Helibras  

The Brazilian air force’s fleet of Airbus H225M Caracal helicopters, which will eventually total 18 aircraft equipped for the combat search and rescue mission, has logged its first 10,000 flight hours

The Brazilian air force’s fleet of Airbus H225M Caracal helicopters, which will eventually total 18 aircraft equipped for the combat search and rescue mission, has logged its first 10,000 flight hours

SÃO PAULO, Brazil --- Helibras / Airbus Helicopters have reached another important milestone in their history. In just six years of operation with the H225M (H-36) Caracal, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) completed 10,000 flight hours with the aircraft. 

The aircraft is part of the H-XBR agreement, signed in 2008 with the Ministry of Defense, to supply 50 state-of-the-art helicopters to the Brazilian Armed Forces. 18 aircraft will be assigned to the FAB, of which 2 are from the Special Transport Group (GTE). 

The 10,000-hour milestone achieved by FAB was also made possible by the strong investment of Helibras in the expansion of its support & service capabilities, in order to keep the helicopters constantly available. 

"We are very happy to reach this milestone. This is an important achievement, the result of the long partnership between Helibras, the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense, as it shows commitment to the quality and safety of our products, "said Richard Marelli, president of Helibras. 

The H225M, configured in the C-SAR version, is equipped with the EWS (Electronic Warfare System) system, as well as a set of auxiliary defense equipment with threat, laser and missile alert sensors. In addition to night-time capability and equipped with FLIR, it also features the exclusive PLS (Personnel Locator System) system for precise location during rescues, with encrypted information that provides mission-critical security and in-flight refueling capability helicopters can operate at great distances.