Airbus Helicopters, the helicopter manufacturing division of the European aircraft giant Airbus, has signed a contract to supply 50 H160 helicopters to GDAT, one of China’s largest helicopter leasing and operating companies. The order is estimated to be worth between 750 million and 1 billion dollars.

It is the most significant H160 order in the civil and partly state-controlled market since it was presented in 2015. The 50 aircraft will be produced in Marignane near Marseille, while Airbus Helicopters has already built an H135 assembly line in China, where more than 300 Airbus helicopters fly.

€20 million each

The H160, with a price tag of 20 million euros, is a multi-mission helicopter well suited to the many segments planned by leasing companies. The aircraft, formerly X4, is a twin-engine helicopter with sound-reducing Blue Edge blades that can carry 12 people over up to 880 km in addition to two pilots.

GDAT, which already has 26 Airbus helicopters in its fleet, will offer these aircraft to operators in the energy sectors, mainly for offshore transport to oil and gas platforms and wind farms. The contract was signed during French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent three-day visit to China.

GDAT will receive its first aircraft in 2024. Headquartered in Shanghai, the group has four subsidiaries across China, operational bases in Suzhou and Ningbo, and a subsidiary in London.

Well-stocked order book

The H160 is one of Airbus Helicopter’s growth engines. The company has over 100 aircraft in its order book, including a dozen in the United States.

Yet its orders disappointed last year, with only 12 aircraft sold (down from 52 in 2021). Customers flying the H160 include Saudi Helicopter Company, Japan’s All Nippon Helicopter, and the French Navy (to carry out search and rescue missions).

The Belgian government is also very likely to shop with Airbus Helicopters. On Friday, the Council of Ministers approved the start of the tender procedure for 20 light helicopters through a specialized NATO agency.

These include 15 helicopters for the army to replace the Agusta and NH90. No aircraft type was specified, but the army has set its sights for months on an aircraft built by Airbus Helicopters, the H145M, the latest member of the company’s four-ton-class twin-engine rotorcraft product range. The purchase of the 15 H145M is estimated at 250 million euros.