The Irish Air Corps (IAC), the air element of the Irish Defence Forces, has taken delivery of the first of two EC135 P2 helicopters. The second is due to be delivered in October and will join the IAC’s fleet of Alouette III, AS355 and AS365 helicopters.

The additions are part of the Corps’ fleet upgrade programme and will be used primarily for pilot training, emergency medical services (EMS) and army support.

The helicopters are equipped with a night vision goggle compatible glass cockpit, dual and single pilot IFR instrumentation, a navigation management system, rescue hoist, cargo hook, rope-down device and fixed provisions for FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-red) camera. Both helicopters can be fitted with EMS equipment.

The EC135P2s are powered by Pratt & Whitney PW206B turbine engines and feature FADEC power management systems.