{"id":47184,"date":"2024-01-31T09:50:43","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T09:50:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/manufacturing-today.com\/?p=47184"},"modified":"2025-11-18T11:44:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T11:44:46","slug":"airbus-helicopters-a-legacy-of-aerial-innovation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/manufacturing-today.com\/news\/airbus-helicopters-a-legacy-of-aerial-innovation\/","title":{"rendered":"Airbus Helicopters: A Legacy of Aerial Innovation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aviation industry giant Airbus Helicopters has gained recognition throughout its decades-long existence, earning its position as a global leader in the sector. A division of Airbus, the industry powerhouse in aeronautics, space and related services, Airbus Helicopters is renowned for its dominant market share outside the USA and increasingly for its spearheading of sustainable technology and operations. With a presence spanning over 150 countries, Airbus\u2019 helicopters are a lifeline for those who serve, protect, and save lives, while remaining the trusted choice for safely carrying passengers in demanding environments. From civil and government operations to military, law enforcement, and public service, the company offers the full spectrum of rotary-wing aircraft solutions. Lenny Brown, Managing Director of Airbus Helicopters UK, provides a comprehensive account of the company\u2019s journey and evolution in the UK.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Lenny Brown<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Support solutions<\/strong>
\nFirst established in 1974 as McAlpine Helicopters, the company became Eurocopter when Airbus fully acquired that company in 2007 and was renamed Airbus Helicopters UK in 2014. Its headquarters and primary facility are based at Oxford Airport eight miles north of the city. Lenny relates: \u201cAbout two-thirds of our workforce, which comprises 450 talented individuals in total, is here at Oxford with most of the remainder at RAF Shawbury, where they support the UK\u2019s Military Flying Training System (MFTS). That role involves training the country\u2019s military rotary-wing pilots and crew members on our helicopters. Additionally, we have an adjunct of the MFTS based at RAF Valley, where they focus on search and rescue training, and small units within the Police Service of Northern Ireland and a logistics department supporting the oil and gas industry on their H175 helicopters in Aberdeen.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final element of the workforce is an engineering detachment at RAF Benson supporting the RAF\u2019s Airbus Puma HC2 helicopters. The Pumas are due to be taken out of service and the MoD is expected shortly to launch a competition to replace them under the New Military Helicopter (NMH) program \u2013 it could have dramatic consequences for the company. Lenny says: \u201cOur goal is to bid for the contract to replace the 23 Puma helicopters that we currently support. We\u2019ll be up against giants like Lockheed Martin, so, we have formed strategic partnerships with Boeing, Spirit AeroSystems and Babcock International to stand us in good stead.<\/p>\n

Complex configurations<\/strong>
\n\u201cIf we are selected, we will produce our candidate helicopter \u2013 the H175M \u2013 at a brand new facility at the existing Airbus wing-building plant at Broughton in North Wales. It has incredible potential to reinvigorate the UK\u2019s underperforming helicopter industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lenny details the current capabilities in the UK, which have led to the company\u2019s enviable market position. \u201cIt is important to note that we don\u2019t produce helicopters at our Oxford facility,\u201d he explains. \u201cThe aircraft are delivered to us from Airbus factories in France and Germany and we then apply the mission systems, avionics, upholstery and so on depending on the end customer\u2019s specification. In other words, we act as a customization shop. We employ over 40 aircraft design engineers who can design pretty much anything we require in or on the aircraft. That covers our VIP, military, air ambulance, and police helicopters \u2013 some of which have highly complex configurations, which are our speciality.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur team of engineers is digitally connected with the wider Airbus Helicopters design team in France and Germany, which empowers all teams to share data on designs. The designers focus on developing the aircraft customizations and then the installation engineers put those designs on the aircraft. A great example of that process is on the H130 helicopter we\u2019re currently working on in association with Aston Martin under our Airbus Corporate Helicopters brand \u2013 christened the ACH130 Aston Martin Edition. The interiors are all handstitched leather and completed with sublime paintwork from Aston Martin\u2019s range of auto paint finishes. It\u2019s been extremely popular in the market, and we have performed 17 of those which are shipped across the world from the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lenny describes how another key capability is in meeting the requirements of the National Police Air Service (NPAS) in the UK. This entails fitting aircraft with a range of surveillance systems, and rear operator suites, as well as handling communications and data uplink\/downlink capabilities. NPAS is also a major customer for the company\u2019s maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operation which handles 70-to-90 aircraft per year.<\/p>\n

\"\"Commitment to carbon reduction<\/strong>
\nAirbus Helicopters has a crucial role to play in recruiting and training future generations of helicopter aircrew and engineers in the UK \u2013 partly for its own employment needs and partly as an industry partner to the Military Flying Training System which exclusively uses Airbus helicopters \u2013 the H135 Juno and H145 Jupiter. Lenny says: \u201cWithin the wider Airbus group, we train nearly 900 apprentices in the UK. Our own program is just one part of that, but it is growing and now includes not only engineering apprenticeships but also those in design, sales, HR and soon, executive PA. Airbus Helicopters is a very attractive company to work for as we provide apprentices with the opportunity to acquire formal academic and licensed qualifications. So at the end of their training, apprentices tend to stay within our organization.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs well as the MFTS operation we also train all the RAF Puma engineers plus pilots and customers who have purchased our aircraft, equipping them with the necessary skills to fly and debrief their maintenance teams. And in our flight department we have our own test pilots who closely collaborate with the design team, ensuring that any new design products, customizations, and aircraft modifications undergo rigorous certification and testing.\u201d<\/p>\n

For evidence of the company\u2019s belief in its own ambition you need only look at the state-of-the-art new HQ and production facility now near completion on the other side of Oxford Airport from its outdated current base. Delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the 12,000 meter-squared unit, financed by Airbus itself, will open in June 2024 coinciding with the UK company\u2019s 50th anniversary.<\/p>\n

The facility will greatly increase industrial capacity, transform working conditions and ensure safe aviation operations but Lenny explains that a key benefit will be a reduction in carbon emissions of around 50 percent – fully in-line with Airbus\u2019 global commitment to sustainability. He says: \u201cThis commitment to world-class sustainability is enshrined in our corporate goals today and our customers want to see us taking this path.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new base is a huge step in that direction but we\u2019re also well on our way to using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for all our flight operations here. It will be a blend for now but is pioneering activity and we\u2019ve already demonstrated that 100 percent SAF is usable in our helicopters when we get all the necessary approvals. It will cost more but we anticipate that as economies of scale come into play, the cost will come down. We\u2019re also looking at a solar farm for the new base and we\u2019re moving to electric and hybrid vehicles in our company vehicle fleets as fast as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through its expertise in engineering excellence, Airbus Helicopters has secured itself a prosperous future. From what Lenny has shared, Airbus Helicopters\u2019 dedication to quality customer service and keen eye for innovation, continues to make it a dependable name in the aerospace industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aviation industry giant Airbus Helicopters has gained recognition throughout its decades-long existence, earning its position as a global leader in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[685,668,657],"tags":[913,1487,1734,2058,2059,2060],"class_list":["post-47184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology","category-aerospace","category-insights","tag-aviation","tag-engineering","tag-united-kingdom","tag-airbus-helicopters","tag-oxford","tag-lenny-brown"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAirbus Helicopters: A Legacy of Aerial Innovation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Aviation industry giant Airbus Helicopters has gained recognition throughout its decades-long existence, earning its position as a global leader in the sector\" \/>\n<meta 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