One of the first two of 16 H225M helicopters for Hungary departing Airbus' Marignane production facility in southern France. (Airbus)
The first two of 16 Airbus Helicopters H225M multirole rotorcraft were delivered to Hungary on 18 July, the manufacturer announced.
The helicopters, which are equipped with the company's HForce Generic Weapon System (GWS), were flown directly from Airbus' Marignane production facility in southern France to Szolnok Air Base in central Hungary.
News of the first deliveries came around three-and-a-half years after the helicopters were ordered by Hungary in December 2018 under the country's ‘Zrínyi 2026' armed forces modernisation programme.
No contract value was disclosed, and neither Airbus nor the Hungarian Ministry of Defence have said when deliveries will be complete.
The H225M HForce procurement followed Hungary's purchase of 20 of the smaller Airbus H145M helicopters fitted with the same HForce system in June 2018. The HForce enables the customer to quickly and easily weaponise its helicopters by means of the Rockwell Collins Deutschland (RCD) FMC-4212 General Purpose Computer (GPC), the Thales' Scorpion monocular helmet-mounted sight display (HMSD), and a Wescam electro-optical sensor, as well as gunner armament weapon grips and weapon pods.
HForce weapon options include 12.7 mm heavy machine gun pods (HMGPs), 20 mm cannon pods, and/or 68 mm and 70 mm unguided and guided rockets, as well as air-to-surface and air-to-air missiles. Airbus representatives earlier told Janes that for its H145M helicopters, Hungary has opted to fit the complete weapons package that includes guided rockets and it is likely that it is receiving this same package for the H225Ms as well.
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