Shortly after celebrating the 20,000-hour mark, the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) fleet of 12 Airbus Helicopters H225Ms has now exceeded 25,000 flight hours.
Part of the reason for the accelerated use is that in 2019 Malaysia withdrew its old Sikorsky S-61 Nuri (Parrot) medium helicopter without replacement. The Airbus machine – still known in Malaysia by its former name EC725 – has been performing search and rescue (SAR) and flood rescue missions, as well as utility roles.
“We are waiting for RMAF to confirm the need for more medium utility helicopters,” said Fabrice Rochereau, Airbus Helicopters Sales Head Asia Pacific. Meanwhile, cash-strapped RMAF leased four smaller Leonardo AW139s to help fill the gap.
“We have a deep, long-term commitment to Malaysia,” Rochereau said. In 2019, the company transferred its entire maintenance, training and support operations from Singapore’s Seletar Airport to Malaysia’s Subang Airport. This includes emulators for H225 and AS365. The EC725 will be overhauled here starting this year and has been in service for 12 years.
In addition to the EC725, Airbus Helicopters sold six AS555s to the Malaysian Navy for training; nine more to the police; and three AS365s to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Authority (MMEA). RMAF now has five EC120Bs for training, which are rented second-hand from a local MRO company.
In the wider Asia-Pacific region, Airbus has around 2,150 helicopters in service, of which about one-third are for the military, one-third for quasi-public helicopters and the remainder for the civilian market. “We sell more helicopters here than all our competitors combined,” Rochereau said. He particularly emphasized H135. “It’s a rising star…perfect for law enforcement, medical evacuation and training.” He claims the H135 is the cheapest twin-engine helicopter to buy and operate, and it’s very reliable.
Chris Pocock, DSA, Kuala Lumpur
