On the previous day the Minister of Defence of Iraq, Thabet al-Abbassi, signed a deal for 14 of the helicopters, in the presence of the Ambassador of France to the country, Patrick Durel, in the capital, Baghdad. Two of the helicopters will be refurbished airframes while the other 12 will be new aircraft assembled at Marignane.
They will be used to replace Mil Mi-17s operated by Iraqi Army Aviation Command in multiple roles including – according to the Airbus press release – “counter-terrorism, special operations, tactical troop transport, attack, ground fire support, MEDEVAC [medical evacuation] and combat search and rescue.” Although the H225M can be equipped with the Airbus HForce weapons system for light attack missions, it has not been revealed if the aircraft for Iraq will be so equipped. Deliveries are due to commence in early 2025.
Commenting on the order, Bruno Even, the chief executive officer of Airbus Helicopters, stated, “the H225M is a combat-proven platform used around the world by many operators, including the French Air Force, for combat search and rescue missions. It has proven its worth and saved many lives since entering into service.” He continued that “the H225M is unmatched in terms of range, payload and also mission systems. It has been designed to operate challenging missions in the most demanding environments. We are looking forward to seeing the H225M contribute to Iraq’s safety and sovereignty.”
Negotiations for the helicopters are reported to have been under way since at least the visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Chia Al-Soudani to Paris for discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron in January 2023. Iraq has been looking at replacing most of its Russian-built helicopter fleet – Mil Mi-17s, -28s and 35s – in recent years. While various branches of the Iraqi armed forces have received H125s, H135s and H145s, the order marks the first placed by the country for the military (M) variant of the H225.
Until 2005 civilian versions of the H225 were known as the EC225 with the name Super Puma, while the H225M was the EC725 Caracal. More than 350 H225s have been delivered, out of which more than 170 are H225M versions, with orders for around 72 still outstanding. The helicopter is flown by the armed forces of Brazil, France, Hungary, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore and Thailand, and has been used in combat by several operators. Including the civilian fleet, H225s have logged more than 880,000 flight hours.
Developed from the AS 332 Super Puma and military AS 532 Cougar derivative, the prototype of what became the H225M first flew on November 27, 2000, and deliveries commenced in February 2005. Development of a replacement under the Airbus Helicopters codename X6 began in 2015, but the project was dropped three years later. Since then the baseline H225 airframe has received incremental upgrades. The latest include advanced avionics and airborne communication systems, plus an enhanced gearbox, while maximum take-off weight was increased by 160kg (353lb) to 11,160kg (24,604lb).
