Lithuania purchases three H145s
The Lithuanian government has ordered three H145s from Airbus for use by the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service
The helicopters will be used to perform a broad range of missions, including border control, search and rescue (SAR), disaster relief and medical evacuation (medevac), firefighting, organ transportation, and troop transport on behalf of the Lithuanian Special Forces.
Airbus announced the contract at the 2023 European Rotors trade show in Madrid.
The aircraft have a useful load of 150kg, and are powered by two Safran Arriel 2E engines with full authority digital engine control (FADEC). The rotorcraft also feature a Helionix digital avionics suite.
“Funded in part by the national budget and also thanks to European funding, the H145s will further strengthen the intelligence and response capabilities of our border guards and contribute to Lithuania’s security,” said Agné Bilotaité, the Lithuanian Minister of Interior.
The government of Slovenia also recently announced the purchase of six AW139M helicopters from Leonardo.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at AirMed&Rescue. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.