Rhineland-Palatinate orders two H145 police helicopters
The Ministry of the Interior of Rhineland-Palatinate has ordered two new five-bladed Airbus H145s for operation by its police force, for delivery in the first quarter of 2024
The aircraft will be based in Winningen and will replace the state police’s current H135 fleet. The aircraft were purchased following a European-wide tender earlier this year.
The H145s will feature twin Safran Arriel 2E engines with full authority digital engine control (FADEC), a Helionix digital cockpit and four-axis autopilot.
The H145 also has a recommended cruise speed of 241km/h with a maximum range of 650km using standard fuel tanks, and a maximum endurance of 3h 35min.
“These five-bladed H145s will be outfitted with highly sophisticated equipment in order to further enhance the mission capabilities of the police force,” said Wolfgang Schoder, Managing Director of Airbus Helicopters in Germany. “We have seen with the flooding last year that law enforcement operators need to be able to rely on helicopters that can perform these demanding and essential missions and the H145 does just that.”
Schoder is referring to the disastrous flooding of the Rhine river in July 2021, which claimed hundreds of lives across Europe. In Germany, Rhineland-Palatinate was one of the hardest-affected regions.
The Germany state of Bavaria also ordered eight five-bladed H145s for its police force in December 2021.