The Norwegian Air Ambulance (Norsk Luftambulanse) and Airbus have signed a frame contract for up to eight H145 helicopters, including the firm acquisition of two helicopters.

“The Norwegian Air Ambulance has just been chosen again by Norway as the helicopter emergency medical services provider in the country,” exclaims Leif Olstad, CEO of the Norwegian Air Ambulance. “With its size and capabilities, the H145 has proven well-suited for the Norwegian service, making it a natural choice.”

“We are honoured to open yet another chapter with the Norwegian Air Ambulance, providing up to eight H145 helicopters under this new frame contract,” adds Thomas Hein, head of Europe region at Airbus Helicopters. “The H145's global reputation in helicopter emergency medical services, combined with its class-leading low acoustic footprint, CO2 emissions and operating costs, ensures it's the ideal choice for continued life-saving missions with the Norwegian Air Ambulance.”

Today, Norwegian Air Ambulance operates all HEMS bases in Norway relying mainly on a fleet of 20 Airbus H135 and H145 helicopters. The organisation's parent company, the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation, was the first operator in the world to take delivery of a five-bladed H145 in 2020.

The latest version of Airbus' best-selling helicopter, the light twin-engine H145, adds a new, innovative five-bladed rotor to the multi-mission aircraft, increasing the useful load of the helicopter by 150kg. The simplicity of the new bearingless main rotor design also eases maintenance operations, further improving the benchmark serviceability and reliability of the H145, while improving ride comfort for both passengers and crew.

In total, there are more than 1,750 H145 family helicopters in service, logging a total of more than eight million flight hours. Powered by two Safran Arriel 2E engines, the H145 is equipped with full authority digital engine control (FADEC) and the Helionix digital avionics suite. It includes a high performance four-axis autopilot, increasing safety and reducing pilot workload. Its particularly low acoustic footprint makes the H145 the quietest helicopter in its class, while its CO2 emissions are the lowest amongst its competitors.

Airbus Helicopters is the leading provider of helicopters to the air medical transport industry, providing 54% of the 2,900 EMS helicopters flying in the world today.