Airbus Helicopters offers H145M for Australian SOF role

Airbus Helicopters has confirmed it is to bid its H145M battlefield support helicopter for Australia’s special forces requirement.

The H145M demonstrates its special forces credentials with the German KSK counter-terrorism unit. The type is now to be offered to Australia in a similar role. (Airbus Helicopters)

The announcement, made by the company on 18 March, comes eight months after Jane’s first reported that Airbus was discussing with a potential customer a requirement to airlift up to four H145Ms aboard a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III strategic transport aircraft for rapid forward deployment.

While the head of H145M marketing, Christian Fachini, declined at that time to identify the prospective customer, Australia was known to have such a requirement for its special operations forces (SOFs).

Australia’s Land 2097 Phase 4 requirement for an SOF helicopter came to light in the country’s Defence Integrated Investment Programme (DIIP), which was published in 2016. As noted in the DIIP, the new fleet of deployable light reconnaissance and attack helicopters to provide air-mobility support for SOF missions is scheduled to be fielded from about 2025. As previously reported by Jane’s , the helicopters will be able to be deployed rapidly from a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) C-17 as a small force element of three-to-four aircraft and personnel.

Australia is looking for a SOF helicopter that can be transported aboard its C-17 Globemaster III airlifters and be made ready for operations in less than 30 minutes. (IHS Markit/Gareth Jennings)

The programme timeframe was listed as 2025–28, with a budget range of AUD2–3 billion (USD1.5–2.3 billion). Besides Airbus Helicopters and its H145M, Jane’s