Lithuanian State Border Guard Service orders three H145 helicopters

Photo: Airbus Helicopters, Christian Keller

Airbus Helicopters and the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service has announced a contract for three five-bladed H145 multi-mission helicopters at the 2023 European Rotors trade show, expanding the service’s fleet. These three additional H145s bring the total number of Airbus helicopters in service with the Lithuanian government to 11, further strengthening Airbus Helicopters’ position in this mission segment. The helicopters will be operated for a wide range of missions including search and rescue, disaster relief and medevac, border patrol, firefighting, transport of donor organs, and operational deployment of the Lithuanian Special Forces.

Agné Bilotaité, the Lithuanian Minister of the Interior, said: “We are allocating significant resources to provide our State Border Guard Service with ‘state of the art’ equipment such as the multi-mission H145 helicopters. Funded in part by the national budget and also thanks to European funding, the H145s will further strengthen the intelligence and response capabilities of our border guards and contribute to Lithuania’s security.”

Olivier Michalon, executive vice-president of global business at Airbus Helicopters, said: “We are honoured that the Lithuanian State Border Guard Service is placing its trust in Airbus Helicopters once again with the selection of the H145 as its next generation multi-role helicopter. Our partnership started in 2002 when we delivered its first EC120. 21 years later, it is a privilege to support such a distinguished organisation and to contribute to essential security missions in order to protect and serve the population of Lithuania and to make Europe safer.”

There are currently more than 200 H145 helicopters deployed to public services and law enforcement missions around the world. The new version of Airbus’ best-selling H145 adds a new, innovative five-bladed rotor to the multi-mission H145, increasing the useful load of the helicopter by 150kg. The simplicity of the new bearingless main rotor design will also ease maintenance operations, further improving the benchmark serviceability and reliability, while improving ride comfort for both passengers and crew.

In total, there are more than 1,650 H145 family helicopters in service, logging a total of more than 7.5 million flight hours. Powered by two Safran Arriel 2E engines, the H145 is equipped with full authority digital engine control (FADEC) and the Helionix digital avionics suite. It includes a high performance four-axis autopilot, increasing safety and reducing pilot workload. Its particularly low acoustic footprint makes the H145 the quietest helicopter in its class, while its CO₂ emissions are the lowest among its competitors.