Speaking at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) 2023 exhibition on 24 May, Airbus Helicopters’ Vice President/Head of Marketing and Sales for the Asia-Pacific Region Fabrice Rochereau said that he sees opportunity for further sales of the company's heavy helicopter portfolio in coming months.
“Market growth will be for the bigger helicopters (H175 and H225), that’s where the demand is,” he explained.
While much of this market demand is in the resurgent oil and gas sector, the military and paramilitary sectors also present significant sales opportunities, Rochereau said.
Airbus Helicopters has enjoyed recent success in this end of the market, completing deliveries of 16 H225M Super Puma helicopters to the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) and H225s to the Japan Coast Guard (JCG). Around 90 H225s are active in the Asia-Pacific region, with 20 deliveries occurring in 2022 alone.
The Super Puma is in service with military operators throughout the region, including the Royal Malaysian Air Force, which has recently celebrated ten years of operations with its 12 EC725AP Caracal helicopters.
Rochereau also said that he anticipates strong demand for Airbus Helicopters’ “super medium” H175 helicopter.
“There are significant opportunities for H175 in Malaysia across civil, parapublic and military sectors,” he added. “Airbus is confident that this helicopter will be a critical asset in the country.”
Rochereau revealed that Airbus Helicopters has recently responded to a Request for Tender (RFT) from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) released in 2022 for four Search and Rescue (SAR) rotorcraft. The company is pitching the H175 for this requirement.
He also revealed that the company is proposing the smaller H145 helicopter in response to a recent Request For Information (RFI) for a replacement of the Royal Malaysian Navy’s six AS555SN Fennec helicopters which were delivered from 2004.