Airbus eyes 40 new chopper orders from Asia Pacific, up to six from Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 – Helicopter manufacturer and solutions provider Airbus Helicopters aims to secure 40 new orders from the Asia-Pacific region this year, with up to six orders likely coming from Malaysia.

The company’s head of sales for the Asia-Pacific, Fabrice Rochereau, said the orders would be across all segments, including military and civil helicopters.

“Our target for this year is to sell 40 helicopters in the region. As of March 2022, we had more than 15 helicopters (sold),” he told a press conference at the Defence Service Asia (DSA) 2022 here today.

The biennial DSA and the National Security Conference will run for four days at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre in Dutamas.

Rochereau also noted that Airbus takes the lead in Malaysia’s helicopter market with 42% of the share.

In the military segment, Airbus holds 37.8% of the market share, while in civil and parapublic it holds 30%.

He expects Airbus to maintain its market share with a strong local team and products to meet the country’s needs.

“We see potential growth for Malaysia’s military and parapublic market over the next five to 10 years, where future demand will be driven by fleet modernization, renewals, military training, and maritime security,” he said.

To date, close to 90 Airbus helicopters are serving the country for a variety of civil, parapublic, and military missions.

This includes the fleet of 12 H225M helicopters that have been serving the needs of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) since 2012.

The multi-purpose RMAF H225M fleet was recognized recently as Asia’s highest military flyer of the type, achieving over 25,000 flight hours.

NMT as reported by Bernama