Japan’s Coast Guard (JCG) signed a contract with Airbus to purchase one additional H225 helicopter, in addition to the five the JCG already operates, Airbus said March 14.
Japan’s order is part of the Coast Guard’s fleet renewal plans and is set to be delivered by the end of 2018.
The order plans for the new H225 to be equipped with advanced search and rescue mission systems and will be operated in security enforcement, territorial sea guard duties, and disaster relief missions.
“We feel honored to have signed this contract with Japan Coast Guard for their sixth H225 and are grateful for our customer’s renewed trust in the aircraft,” Stéphane Ginoux, president of Airbus’s helicopter division in Japan, said in a statement.
“To ensure our customer’s complete satisfaction, we remain committed to high availability rates for JCG’s H225 fleet, thanks to our domestic footprint and our broad range of services,” Ginoux added.
The H225 is part of Airbus’ Super Puma helicopter family and as such as an 11-ton twin-turbine rotorcraft that can accommodate up to 19 passengers. 24 helicopters from the Super Puma group are currently operated in Japan by civil and parapublic users for search and rescue, offshore operations, and passenger transport missions.
Airbus highlighted over 180 H225s are operating in 22 countries internationally and have completed almost 500,000 flight hours.