Combat helicopter for Brazil's navy

The first navalised H225M multi-role helicopter with additional surface combat equipment has been delivered to the Brazilian Navy by the French company Airbus Helicopters. The long-range tactical and logistical helicopter became known to air forces and army pilots over 20 years ago, initially as the EC725 Caracal from Eurocopter and later by Airbus under the name Super Puma. Over 1,000 units have already been delivered to numerous nations and flown on missions worldwide.

Airbus - made in Brasilia

However, this aircraft type has also been successfully built under licence at Helibras in Itajuba, Minas Gerais province, around 200 km west of Rio de Janeiro, for over ten years. In the transport and CSAR (search and rescue) as well as VIP versions, the helicopter, almost 40 of which have already been produced there, is flown in roughly equal numbers by the three Brazilian armed forces. In the combat version now being navalised for the Brazilian Navy for the first time, the rotorcraft is equipped with the Exocet AM39 anti-ship missile, tactical radar, an electronic warfare system and a tactical data processing and command and control system. This equipment represents a significant increase in surveillance and surface combat capabilities for Brazil's naval forces. The naval combat version, probably comprising five units, is thus the most complex model of the French Cougar, which has been flown in its initial versions since the end of the 1970s.