Airbus delivered the first of two H215 helicopters to the Finnish Boarder Guard fleet, the company said Wednesday at the Heli Expo Trade Show in Louisville, Ky.
The helicopter arrived in Finland on Feb. 28 after it completed a training session at the Airbus Helicopters headquarters in Marignane, France with the second set to arrive after completing its training session in April. The sessions include over 140 flight hours.
The H215 is a twin-engine aircraft fit for a range of missions including utility with internal and external loads, passenger transportation, law enforcement and search & rescue missions (SAR) , firefighting and medical evacuation, and peace-keeping and humanitarian deployment. It has a glass cockpit with 4-axis autopilot used on the H225.
The ordered H215 helicopters are based on the Eurocopter AS322L1e Super Puma. The Finnish Border Guard already operates three AS332 rotorcraft and has also signed a Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) HCare contract to retrofit them to the new H215 multirole configuration.
The Finnish H215s are planned to be used to perform border security and maritime SAR duties based out of Finland’s Turku and Helsinki bases.
An official with the Finnish Border Guards explained the importance of the improved SAR capabilities.
“Finland is the 8th largest country in the European Union but the most sparsely populated, with large sea areas and forest terrains and, due the northern location, very challenging weather conditions for SAR operations. The H215’s avionics and autopilot combined with its capability to provide excellent performance in day or night operations are the reason why we are excited to have it join our fleet,” Col. Antti Pesari of the Finnish Boarder Guards, said in a statement.
“The H215 a highly performing helicopter that also offers a very innovative and flexible cabin. This helicopter represents a new and modern business concept, offering a standardized equipment definition, therefore providing customers with a smart choice when it comes to a specific kind of mission need,” Marie-Agnes Vève, senior vice president of Airbus’ Super Puma program, added.
The border guard’s Air Patrol Squadron carries out over 4,000 flight hours annually, with 1,400 of them using the Super Pumas.