On August 24 in Bucarest, Romania, Airbus Helicopters and Romanian company IAR (headquartered in Brasov) signed a new exclusive cooperation agreement for the production of the H215M multirole helicopter.
The 15-year agreement follows on from a previous five-year contract. IAR will become the prime contractor for the H215M for any future order by the Romanian Ministry of Defense to replace their ageing fleet of medium-weight helicopters. At the official signing event, IAR CEO Neculai Banea, reminded attendees that “IAR has built over 360 helicopters under Airbus Helicopters’ license over the past decades, which makes us confident in the future success of the H215M.”
The agreement also covers cooperation between Airbus Helicopters and IAR on the production, assembly, customization, support and maintenance of the H215M helicopters destined to the Romanian Armed Forces, and export if opportunities arise.
By François Blanc
©photo: LORETTE-FABRE
