15 May 25. Babcock joins forces with Airbus and CAE for comprehensive multi-role helicopter offering for Poland. Babcock has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus and CAE to partner together to offer a comprehensive package of military helicopters and associated training services to the Polish Air Force. The partnership brings together three world-class service providers who will leverage their unique combined expertise on a proposal to provide Poland with powerful new defence capabilities as part of the ongoing modernisation of Polish helicopter aviation. Under the terms of the MoU, we will provide training, Airbus will lead on the platform design and build, and CAE will deliver the simulation capabilities.
Jo Rayson, Managing Director of Babcock’s Training business, said: “Our partnership presents the Polish Armed Forces with an exceptional platform backed by a proven training and support solution. Babcock is already playing a critical role on the Polish Navy’s Miecznik frigate programme and we’re pleased to be partnering with Airbus and CAE on this opportunity to deliver a crucial new defence capability.”
Ludovic Boistot, Head of Sales Eastern Europe and CIS at Airbus Helicopters, said: “The H145 is the perfect four tonne class dual use helicopter, equipped to perform a wide range of military missions, including training, disaster relief, search and rescue special forces, light attack and more. It’s been used for these missions by key NATO and European allies of Poland such as the US, UK and Germany. We are confident that together with our training partners Babcock and CAE, who are world renowned companies in the fields of military training, we will provide the Polish military with the best multirole helicopter and the best training conditions to modernise the Air Force University of Deblin for their future Apache and other rotary-wing pilots.”
Thibaut Trancart, Vice President and General Manager, CAE Defense & Security, EMEA, from CAE, added: “With more than 75 years of experience and a global presence as the training partner of choice for defence forces worldwide, our cutting-edge helicopter training and simulation solutions empower defence forces to develop essential skills and best practices for live missions. Ensuring superior training outcomes, CAE’s advanced technology and expertise, together with Airbus and Babcock, will support and enhance the mission and operational readiness of Poland’s defence forces – our team will be instrumental in this effort.”
The Airbus H145M is the military version of the tried-and-tested, light twin-engine H145 helicopter. The global fleet of the H145 family has accumulated more than eight m flight hours and is used by armed and law enforcement forces around the world for the most demanding missions.
16 May 25. Leonardo pitches Trekker training helicopter to Poland. Leonardo is offering its AW109 Trekker to fulfil Poland’s helicopter training requirement, a company representative told Janes on 16 May. The twin-engined helicopter would be locally built by PZL-Świdnik and offered as “a one-stop-shop solution based on a comprehensive training system/syllabus including devices and simulation”, the representative said. The Polish Ministry of National Defence (MND) is looking to acquire 24 new helicopters and their associated simulators and training services to replace a similar number of PZL SW-4 Puszczyk helicopters. As noted in All the World’s Aircraft: Development & Production, the AW109 Trekker is a skid-equipped derivative of the AW109SP GrandNew helicopter, which is essentially an enlarged cabin version of the original AW109. With a maximum take-off weight of 3,175 kg (internal load), the Trekker version has a cruise speed of 160 kt and a range of 824 km. The MND has not disclosed when a contract will be awarded. The selected helicopter type will be operated out of the Polish Air Force University in Dęblin. (Source: Janes)