Airbus Helicopters is introducing the first U.S.-built H125 military configurations helicopter, known as AH-125 and MH-125 Ares, to the Airbus range of military helicopters. These combat-capable aircraft will feature militarised options that meet the needs of military and para-public allies and partners around the world.
The AH-125 Ares will be configured as the armed variant of the helicopter, while the MH-125 Ares will be configured as a multi-role helicopter capable of a wide range of operations. The new offerings complement the extensive line of military helicopters already produced by Airbus, including the H125M.
“The AH-125 and MH-125 Ares helicopters will offer the capability, reliability and flexibility needed by America's allies and partners as they perform an array of rotary wing missions, ranging from light attack to disaster response and other para-public missions,” said Scott Tumpak, Vice President of Military Line of Business for Airbus U.S. Space and Defense. “They represent the latest evolution of Airbus' H125 family of helicopters, and will be produced in the U.S. at Airbus Helicopters, Inc.'s facility in Columbus, Mississippi.”
Globally, the H125 family accounts for almost 80% of the single-engine market and has the highest number of certified modifications (supplemental type certificates) available. With the new addition of a flexible weapons capability, the H125 helicopter will easily be re-configured between multiple mission sets in less than 30 minutes, ranging between light attack, air assault, search and rescue, casualty evacuation, and disaster response, as well as other combat and para-public operations.
MAG Aerospace will perform the weapons installation design, engineering, certification and manufacturing.