Eurocopter, SEOUL, South Korea: Amongst its wide range of civil and military products, the world’s leading helicopter manufacturer highlights its presence at Seoul Airshow with two of its most representative products – the EC 225 SAR, the latest generation of Super Puma in Search and Rescue (SAR) version and the Tiger in combat and fire support (HAP) version.
EC225 SAR:
The EC 225 is the latest addition to the Super Puma family and benefits from its experience in Search and Rescue operations as well as from the recent launching of the EC 725, specially developed to perform the demanding CSAR mission in the French Air Force. Having performed its maiden flight in 2000, this highly reliable machine is able to fly further and faster than any other aircraft in the 11-ton category, in optimal safety conditions.
The EC 225 is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment such as navigation precision (sensors, inertia reference system…) or detection device (FLIR, RADAR). Its high stability allows for efficient hoisting operations and it can be equipped with a rotor de-icing system to fly under all weather conditions. The Chinese Ministry of Communications (MOC) is one of the first customers to order 2 EC 225 SAR, which will be delivered at end 2007.
Tiger HAP:
The Tiger is among the latest helicopters developed by Eurocopter and incorporates the most advanced technologies for an attack helicopter. It is the highest performance combat helicopter available on the market today. The French, German, Australian, and Spanish armed forces have ordered a total of 206 Tigers, and are currently served by 24 of these aircraft.
As for the Tiger HAP, which is a specialised version of the combat helicopter specifically made for combat and fire support missions, 40 orders were made by the French Army whilst 6 were for the Spanish Army.
Eurocopter is keen to extend its existing cooperation with Korea by proposing the EC 225 SAR and Tiger HAP to reinforce the country’s fleet of parapublic and military helicopters.
In the civilian and parapublic fields, Eurocopter is already one of Korea’s major suppliers. The National Emergency Management Agency, which coordinates all the civil security activities in Korea currently operates an extensive fleet of Eurocopter helicopters under its several public service entities (119 National Rescue, Seoul Firefighting Agency as well as the various provincial authorities). In order to fully support its growing customer base in Korea, Eurocopter works together with Samsung on maintenance and customer support activities.
In the military field, Eurocopter is currently involved in an industrial co-operation program with Korea – the Korean Helicopter Program (KHP) which is the largest defence contract ever signed between a European company and South Korea. The objective of the KHP is to codevelop the Korean Utility Helicopter (KUH), an 8 ton helicopter to replace a fleet of currently aging utility and transport helicopters in the South Korean Army from 2012 onwards.
Eurocopter is willing to pursue this cooperation with Korea for the new national program of Attack helicopters. Eurocopter has the full know-how and proven experience in this arena and is committed to provide ultimate support to Korea by proposing the Tiger. This helicopter is the latest generation of Attack helicopters developed by Eurocopter, which has attained a superior standard of mobility, survivability and firing power.
Established in 1992, the Franco-German-Spanish Eurocopter Group is a Division of EADS, a world leader in aerospace, defence and related services. The Eurocopter Group employs approx. 14,000 people. In 2006, Eurocopter confirmed its position as the world’s No. 1 helicopter manufacturer with a turnover of 3.8 billion euros, orders for 615 new helicopters, and a 52% percent market share in the civil and parapublic sectors. More than 9,800 Eurocopter helicopters are currently in service with over 2,800 customers in 140 countries. Eurocopter offers the largest civil and military helicopter range in the world.
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