Story and image by Airbus
Donauwörth, Bavaria, Germany, November 18, 2024 – Less than a year after the contract was signed, Airbus Helicopters has delivered the first of up to 82 H145M’s ordered by Germany at its Donauwörth site. The Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) have named their new H145M’s “Leichter Kampfhubschrauber” (light combat helicopter), or LKH for short. The helicopter’s missions include training, reconnaissance, special forces operations and light attack.
This first helicopter is dedicated to training operations and will be used at the German Army’s Bückeburg base. The first delivery of an H145M LKH in the light attack role to the German customer is scheduled for 2025, as contracted. The training of the Bundeswehr’s pilots started already in August this year.
The H145M is a multi-role military helicopter that provides a broad range of mission capabilities. Within minutes, the helicopter can be reconfigured from a light attack role with axial ballistic and guided weapons and a state-of-the-art self-protection system into a special operations version with fast rappelling equipment. The comprehensive mission packages include hoisting and external cargo capabilities.