Helibras or ''Helicópteros do Brasil'' S.A. (Helicopters of Brazil, Inc.) is a

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

-based

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 ...

manufacturer which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus Helicopters, a division of

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: ' ...

. Helibras has produced and delivered more than 800 helicopters, 70% of which being the

Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil The Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil (or Squirrel), now Airbus Helicopters H125, is a single-engine light utility helicopter originally designed and manufactured in France by Aérospatiale and Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters). In North America, ...

(know in Portuguese as ''Esquilos''). Ten percent of total production is exported to Latin American countries such as

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Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

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Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

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, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. Helibras leads the Brazilian market of turbine helicopters in operation, the company's rotorcraft comprising 54 per cent of those used in the civilian market. It has a greater lead within the domestic military market, the company's share being roughly 66 per cent.

History

Helibras was founded on 1 January 1978 in São Jose dos Campos,

São Paulo state SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...

, Brazil. Since 1980, the company has been located in

Itajubá Itajubá is a municipality in southeastern Minas Gerais state of the Federative Republic of Brazil. It lies in a valley by the Sapucaí river and has terrain elevations ranging from 827 to 1500 metres, occupying an area of 290.45 km2 (112.14&n ...

, a city and municipality in southwestern

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

state,

. Formerly, Helibras was jointly owned by MGI ''Participações'' (MGI Investments – owned by the government of the federal state of

), Bueninvest and Eurocopter. As of 2006, Helibras became a wholly owned subsidiary of Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) which in turn is owned by

Airbus Group Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

. It is the only manufacturer of helicopters in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. The most numerous helicopter type to be produced by Helibras is the

; of the 600 helicopters that the company has domestically manufactured for the Brazilian market by 2012, 70 per cent were AS350s. Brazil has been a major market for the AS350; by 2011 more than 300 helicopters were reportedly operating throughout the country, including from the flight deck of the Brazilian aircraft carrier São Paulo."Eurocopter’s Helibras Subsidiary to Modernize 36 AS350 Ecureuil Helicopters Operated by the Brazilian Army Aviation Command.
", ''Helicopter Maintenance Magazine'', 1 February 2011. Since 1984, the

Brazilian Navy ) , colors= Blue and white , colors_label= Colors , march= "Cisne Branco" ( en, "White Swan") (same name as training ship ''Cisne Branco'' , mascot= , equipment= 1 multipurpose aircraft carrier7 submarines6 frigates2 corvettes4 amphibious warf ...

has used AS350s to support the

Brazilian Antarctic Program The Brazilian Antarctic Program ( pt, Programa Antártico Brasileiro; PROANTAR) is a program of the Brazilian Navy which has presence in the continent of Antarctica. It coordinates research and the operational support for research in the region. ...

. In January 2011, Helibras signed a contract with the Brazilian Army to substantially upgrade and refurbish their existing fleet of 36 AS350 Ecureuils. Brazilian helicopters conduct deck landing qualifications aboard PCU America 140804-N-LQ799-090

Brazilian helicopters conduct deck landing qualifications aboard PCU America 140804-N-LQ799-090

The

Eurocopter AS565 Panther The Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) AS565 Panther is the military version of the Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin medium-weight multi-purpose twin-engine helicopter. The Panther is used for a wide range of military roles, including combat assault, f ...

helicopter was another licensed design produced locally by Helibras. During 1988, the

Brazilian Army Aviation Command The Brazilian Army Aviation Command ( pt, Comando de Aviação do Exército) is a component of the Brazilian Army containing the army's helicopter units. Tasks The task of the Brazilian Army Aviation Command is to provide organic airmobility a ...

took delivery of its first Panthers. In January 2010, Helibras was awarded a contract to upgrade 34 AS365K Panthers to the new AS365 K2 standard. Changes on the Panther K2 include new Turbomeca Arriel 2C2CG engines which produce 40% more power, a glass cockpit containing new avionics and radio systems, a four-axis autopilot, a new

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 ...

, NVG-compatibility, and measures to reduce pilot workload, and shall extend the airframe's service life for a further 25 years.Tomkins, Richard
"Modernization of Brazilian Army helicopters to continue."
''United Press International'', 17 September 2014. In March 2014, the first two Panther K2 rotorcraft were delivered to the Brazilian Army. In September 2014, the Panther K2 passed its technical operation evaluation, having reportedly demonstrated a 98% availability rating throughout the trial period, clearing the way for the full modernisation program to proceed. During September 2008, the Brazilian Government announced that Helibras' factory in

, would produce an initial 50

Eurocopter EC725 The Eurocopter EC725 Caracal, now called Airbus Helicopters H225M, is a long-range tactical transport military helicopter developed from the Eurocopter AS532 Cougar for military use. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up to 28 seated t ...

s under a $1 billion order. These 50 helicopters are to be used by the

, the

Brazilian Air Force "Wings that protect the country" , colours = , colours_label = , march = Hino dos Aviadores , mascot = , anniversaries = 22 May (anniver ...

(FAB) and

."Continued delivery of the H225M for the Brazilian armed forces despite announcement of 2 year delay."
''defesanet'', 3 July 2015. By December 2010, three helicopters were undergoing flight tests prior to entering military service. In 2012, Helibras begin assembly of the rest of the order. In April 2014, Helibras and

MBDA MBDA is a European multinational developer and manufacturer of missiles.MBDA Inc. US Division Co ...

were in the process of integrating the anti-ship

Exocet The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from surface vessels, submarines, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Etymology The missile's name was given by M. Guillot, then the technical director ...

missile, which are also 50%-built in Brazil. On 19 June 2014, the

formally accepted delivery of the first EC725. By July 2015, the Brazilian armed forces had taken delivery of 16 H225Ms; deliveries were reported at the time to continue until 2019. By 1 October 2015, Brazil's H225M fleet had attained 10,000 flight hours. In December 2015, Helibras delivered the first pair of H225Ms to be delivered to a full operational capability (FOC) standard to the Brazilian military.Dominic, Perry
"Brazilian army and air force take first FOC-standard H225Ms."
''Flight International'', 22 December 2015.

Products

Civil

* EC120 Colibri * AS350 B2 Esquilo * AS350 B3 Esquilo * EC130 * EC135 * AS355

Military

* AS550 * AS555 * EC635 *

AS532 The Eurocopter AS532 Cougar (now Airbus Helicopters H215M) is a twin-engine, medium-weight, multipurpose helicopter developed by France. The AS532 is a development and upgrade of the Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma in its militarized form. Its civil ...

EC725 The Eurocopter EC725 Caracal, now called Airbus Helicopters H225M, is a long-range tactical transport military helicopter developed from the Eurocopter AS532 Cougar for military use. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up to 28 seated ...

References

External links