Georg
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The first light multi-purpose helicopter H145 for the search and rescue service of the German Armed Forces (LUH SAR) was handed over to the German Armed Forces on 10 December 2019 - three months before the agreed handover date - by Airbus Helicopters.
In December 2018, the Bundeswehr had ordered seven H145s for the ambulance service and agreed on a maximum price of 87.5 million euros for the aircraft, cabin and avionics adjustments, staff training and optional services. The seven helicopters should be delivered in 2020, well in advance of the planned decommissioning of the Bell UH-1D ("Huey"), which is scheduled for 2021.
The helicopters are to be stationed at the SAR stations Niederstetten, Holzdorf and Nörvenich. Maintenance, repair and provision for flight operations during the first nine years of operation by the Airbus subsidiary Motorflug Baden-Baden is regulated by contract.
The essential SAR assignment tasks will continue to be carried out in the future by the new H145 LUH SAR sample. It is about the search and rescue service, which is performed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Core task here is the search for missing or crashed civil and military aircraft and their inmates but also the transport of injured. In contrast to the civil air rescue, the Bundeswehr rescuers carry out their mission even under adverse weather conditions. This also includes operations after sunset using night vision devices for the pilots.
For this order, the helicopter is equipped with a wide range of sensors and rescue equipment. For example, infrared and thermal imaging sensors, an emergency signal locating system, an external rescue winch, a high-performance searchlight and a mobile phone location system are used. All these systems combined make the new helicopter a highly effective and powerful rescue tool.
After completing the training of the crews, the operational test of the LUH SAR begins. In June 2020, the first SAR station in Niederstetten is to take over the H145 LUH SAR and by April 2021 one expects to complete the entire takeover process. Then it is for the "Huey" in the German army finally "Good-bye"!
Gerhard Heiming
https://esut.de/2019/12/meldungen/s...ubschrauber-h145-luh-sar-fuer-die-bundeswehr/
