The Eurocopter EC635 (now Airbus Helicopters H135M) is a multi-purpose light
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
developed by Eurocopter (now
Airbus Helicopters) as a military version of the
Eurocopter EC135
The Eurocopter EC135 (now Airbus Helicopters H135) is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters (formerly known as Eurocopter). It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules (IFR) and is outfitted with ...
. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up to 8 people, including the pilot, and a range of military equipment or armaments. The helicopter is marketed for troop transport, medical evacuation, cargo transport, reconnaissance and surveillance and armed combat support missions.
Development
The Eurocopter EC635 was developed to meet a
Portuguese Army
The Portuguese Army ( pt, Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its ...
requirement for a light
fire support
Fire support is defined by the United States Department of Defense as " Fires that directly support land, maritime, amphibious, and special operations forces to engage enemy forces, combat formations, and facilities in pursuit of tactical and ope ...
and
medical evacuation
Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...
helicopter, as part of its programme for the raise of a specialist army aviation unit, the
UALE. The EC635 was first revealed at the Aviation Africa exhibition in May 1998 and the
Portuguese Ministry of Defence subsequently signed an agreement for nine EC635 T2 helicopters equipped with
Turbomeca
Safran Helicopter Engines, previously known as Turbomeca, is a French manufacturer of low- and medium-power gas turbine turboshaft engines for helicopters. The company also produces gas turbine engines for aircraft and missiles, as well as turbin ...
Arrius 2B2 engines, at a cost of €35 million in October 1999. Delivery of the first Portuguese aircraft was expected to begin in 2001; however, continual delays in production led to the Portuguese Ministry of Defence canceling the contract in August 2002, citing Eurocopter's failure to deliver all aircraft between August 2001 and April 2002 as the reason. Eurocopter claimed that disagreements over the integration of weapons systems on the helicopter were the reason for the cancellation.
The
Royal Jordanian Air Force agreed to purchase the 9 Portuguese helicopters in October 2002 and the first aircraft was delivered in July 2003. Jordan ordered a further 4 helicopters in January 2006 and deliveries of all machines were completed in 2007.
In April 2006, the Swiss Defence Procurement Agency (Armasuisse) ordered 20 EC635s for the
Swiss Air Force, to replace the aging
Aérospatiale Alouette III
The Aérospatiale Alouette III (, ''Lark''; company designations SA 316 and SA 319) is a single-engine, light utility helicopter developed by French aircraft company Sud Aviation. During its production life, it proved to be a relatively popular r ...
in performing transport and advanced training missions. The first four aircraft were built by Eurocopter, with the remaining 16 being built by
RUAG Aerospace
RUAG Holding (originally Rüstungs Unternehmen Aktiengesellschaft; Joint Stock Defence Company) is a Swiss company specialising in aerospace engineering and the defence industry. Its headquarters are located in Bern, while it also has numerous pr ...
in
Alpnach
Alpnach is a village in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. It comprises the villages of Alpnach Dorf, Alpnachstad and Schoried.
History
Alpnach is first mentioned about 870 as ''Alpenacho''.
Geography
Alpnach has an area, , of . Of this are ...
, Switzerland, and deliveries were as expected completed between March 2008 and December 2009.
Design
The EC635 is based on the
Eurocopter EC135
The Eurocopter EC135 (now Airbus Helicopters H135) is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters (formerly known as Eurocopter). It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules (IFR) and is outfitted with ...
, improving upon the design for military operations and making the helicopter capable of carrying weapons systems. The helicopter is fitted with a choice of powerplants, depending on customer requirements, and can be powered by two
Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206B2 (EC635 P2+), or two
Turbomeca Arrius 2B2 (EC635 T2+). The powerplant is mounted over the baggage compartment and features a
Full Authority Digital Engine Control
A full authority digital engine (or electronics) control (FADEC) is a system consisting of a digital computer, called an "electronic engine controller" (EEC) or "engine control unit" (ECU), and its related accessories that control all aspects of ai ...
system. The engines power a
fibre-reinforced composite
Composite or compositing may refer to:
Materials
* Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances
** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts
** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials
...
Bearingless Main Rotor (BMR) with four blades, and the familiar
Fenestron
A Fenestron (sometimes alternatively referred to as a fantail or a "fan-in-fin" arrangementLeishman 2006, p. 321.) is an enclosed helicopter tail rotor that operates like a ducted fan. The term ''Fenestron'' is a trademark of multinational heli ...
enclosed tail rotor, both of which reduce vibration and noise levels. Vibration levels are further reduced by a built-in Anti Resonance Isolation System (ARIS). The EC635 can be fitted with either a conventional cockpit consisting of a traditional dashboard or a
glass cockpit
A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic (digital) flight instrument displays, typically large LCD screens, rather than the traditional style of analog dials and gauges. While a traditional cockpit relies on numerous mech ...
, which utilizes a
Thales
Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...
'Avionique Nouvelle' suite with MEGHAS Flight Control Display System and
active matrix liquid crystal displays.
There are four configurations designed by Eurocopter for the EC635. The Troop Transport version can be fitted with utility seats to carry up to 7 troops with a pilot, or passenger seats to carry up to 6 people and a pilot. The Medical Evacuation version can carry 1 or 2
litters
Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. Litter can also be used as a verb; to litter means to drop and leave objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups ...
with up to 5 seated medical workers. The Cargo Transport version has 4.9 m³ (173.04 ft³) of space for cargo, while the Armed Mission version is equipped with specialist equipment and weapons for combat (such as the 70-mm-rocket launcher FZ233 from Belgian manufacturer
Forges de Zeebrugge
Forges de Zeebrugge (since 1 January 2017: Thales Belgium) is an arms manufacturer in based in Herstal, Belgium.
Forges de Zeebrugge was founded as a munitions factory between Zeebrugge and Zwankendamme, in the 1930s, as a subsidiary of Carcoke ...
). The helicopter can also be fitted with a
FLIR
Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, typically used on military and civilian aircraft, use a thermographic camera that senses infrared radiation.
The sensors installed in forward-looking infrared cameras, as well as those of other thermal ...
camera turret, an infra-red capable search light,
SAR
SAR or Sar may refer to:
Places
* Sar (river), Galicia, Spain
* Sar, Bahrain, a residential district
* Sar, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran
* Sar, Tibet, Tibet Autonomous Region of China
* Šar Mountains, in southeastern Europe
...
weather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern weather radars are mostly puls ...
and electronic equipment for Observation Missions. Armed EC635s typically feature the Stand Alone Weapon System (SAWS) kit, which comprises a mission and firing control computer onto which various weapon systems and sensors can be integrated; such weapons have included 12.7 mm gun pods, a 20 mm cannon,
70 mm rockets and
ZT3 Ingwe
The ZT3 Ingwe (Leopard) is a modern South African multi-role laser beam riding anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) manufactured by Denel Dynamics (formerly Kentron).
Design and development
The ZT3 and its launch system were developed under the co ...
anti-tank missiles.
Operational history
In March 2008, the
Swiss Air Force received 18 EC635 P2s. The helicopters are to replace their aging fleet of
Alouette IIIs in the utility and training role, two of the aircraft are in VIP configuration.
In 2009,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
bought 24 EC635 T2+ helicopters. The first two were delivered to Iraq on 8 May 2011. The
Iraqi Army has used its EC635s in combat against militants of the
Islamic State
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
during the
Iraqi Civil War.
[Martin, Guy]
"Iraqi EC635 Stand Alone Weapon System, Ingwe contract concluded."
''defenceweb.co.za'', 4 August 2015. On 12 December 2014, an
Iraqi Army EC635 helicopter was shot down by an insurgent-launched shoulder-fired rocket on the outskirts of the city of
Samarra
Samarra ( ar, سَامَرَّاء, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The city of Samarra was founded by Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutasim for his Turkish professional army ...
, about 95 kilometers north of
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
, killing the two pilots on board. Another EC635 was hit by enemy fire on 22 April 2015 and written off. Both crew members survived. On 13 July of the same year, an EC635 was damaged by shrapnel, either from its own ordnance or due to enemy fire, in the
Fallujah area. The helicopter caught fire and crash-landed, but both crew members were unharmed.
Variants
;EC635 T1
:Certified in 2001, same design as the EC135 T1 with structural reinforcement of cabin structure and powered by two
Turbomeca Arrius 2B2 turbine engines.
;EC635 P2 :Powered by two
Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206B2 turbine engines.
;EC635 T2 :Powered by two
Turbomeca Arrius 2B2 turbine engines.
;EC635 P2+ :Certified in 2006, same design as the EC135 P2+ with structural reinforcement of cabin structure and powered by two PW206B2 turbine engines.
;EC635 T2+ :Certified in 2006, same design as the EC135 T2+ with structural reinforcement of cabin structure and powered by two Arrius 2B2 turbine engines.
Operators
;
*
Iraqi Army Aviation - 55th Attack Squadron
;
*
Royal Jordanian Air Force
;
*
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...
: 10 H135Ms
;
*
Swiss Air Force : 20 EC635 P2+
;
*
Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps:
* Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army
* Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941)
* United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...
: 30 H135M on order, Project Matcha, Gazelle replacement
Specifications (EC635 P2)
See also
References
Notes
Bibliography
External links
Eurocopter EC635 webpage
Deagel.com – EC635*
ttp://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/europe/ec635.htm Global Security.org – EC635 Light Utility Helicopter (LUH)European Aviation Safety Agency Type Certificate Data Sheet
{{Eurocopter
Airbus Helicopters aircraft
1990s international military utility aircraft
Military helicopters
1990s international helicopters
Twin-turbine helicopters