On Tuesday, 18 November 2025, the European company Airbus Helicopters (part of the Airbus Group) announced that it will now be responsible for supporting the entire fleet of H145-family helicopters operated by the French Sécurité Civile and Gendarmerie, under a new contract signed with the Directorate of Aeronautical Maintenance (Direction de la Maintenance Aéronautique, DMAé). The latest agreement covers 46 H145 helicopters (40 for Sécurité Civile and six for the Gendarmerie) for a period of up to ten years and will be carried out by Airbus Helicopters in contractual cooperation with Babcock.
Photo: Airbus Helicopters
The new H145 contract, combined with the earlier support agreement for their EC145 helicopter fleet signed in May 2024, also in partnership with Babcock, completes Airbus Helicopters’ responsibility for supporting all H145-family helicopters operated by these two key French public safety services. The unified support structure ensures maximum fleet availability and operational efficiency during the execution of their critical missions.
“Ensuring the operational availability of our H145 fleet is critical for the public safety missions carried out by the Sécurité Civile and Gendarmerie Nationale,” said Captain Jean-Baptiste Fortin from the DMAé. “This comprehensive agreement provides the long-term visibility and industrial support necessary to guarantee their performance.”
“Airbus Helicopters is proud to strengthen its partnership with the French government and to be working alongside Babcock on this essential programme,” said Romain Trapp, Executive Vice President of Customer Support & Services at Airbus Helicopters. “This contract demonstrates the trust the DMAé places in Airbus to support its critical missions. By managing the entire H145 fleet, Airbus Helicopters can provide a unified and more efficient support service.”
Airbus Helicopters and Babcock will ensure the availability of the H145-family helicopters operated by the Sécurité Civile and the Gendarmerie for carrying out key missions in support of French society. The H145 helicopters of both services are used for search and rescue, medical evacuation, firefighting, and law-enforcement operations. The comprehensive contract covers a wide range of support activities, including training, technical support, spare-parts supply, logistics solutions (parts transport and inventory management), technical data management, software support, and MRO services.
Airbus is also involved in the renewal of the Sécurité Civile and Gendarmerie helicopter fleets. Sécurité Civile currently operates 13 new H145s, and the Gendarmerie recently received its first new H145, in line with orders placed by the French Ministry of the Interior in 2021 and 2024.
News from European Rotors 2025! This contract covers 46 #H145 helicopters (40 for the @SecCivileFrance and six for the @Gendarmerie) for up to ten years and will be executed by Airbus Helicopters in a co-contracting partnership with Babcock. 🤝🚁#EuropeanRotors2025 https://t.co/DGyegQqP0K
— Airbus Helicopters (@AirbusHeli) November 18, 2025
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