Helibras has successfully completed flight testing of a chaff and flare countermeasures dispensing system for EC725 helicopters, completing a primary-of-its-kind system integration project in Brazil and staining another key phase in Eurocopter’s contract to offer 50 of those Super Puma/Cougar family rotorcraft to the Brazilian defense force.
Six flights were performed with the self-protection system – that is used to detect and identify threats to the aircraft and confuse heat-seeking and radar-guided missiles – validating its operation and integration with the helicopter’s other functions. The system was developed by Helibras’ Engineering Center under the supervision of Chief Engineer Walter Filho.
Performed by a Brazilian Helibras crew of flight test pilot Patrik Correa and flight test engineer Dreyfus Silva, the airborne evaluations checked the dispensing of flares and chaff within the EC725’s entire flight envelope – using among the many helicopters produced for the Brazilian military.
These flights occurred at Santa Cruz Air Base near Rio de Janeiro and were made possible throughout the cooperation of Helibras with the Brazilian Air Force, and coordinated through Brazil’s national Aerospace Technology and Science Department. The Brazilian Navy provided one in every of its Eurocopter Super Puma AS332 L1 helicopters to accompany the EC725 in flight, ensuring the tests were performed safely.
The self-protection system’s in-country development is a part of Eurocopter’s ambitious technology transfer program, enabling Brazilian defense organizations and firms to boost their technical capabilities while opening significant growth opportunities for the nation’s industry. This system currently comprises several industrial cooperation projects and offset activities.
Helibras and its Eurocopter parent company have already invested inside the technology transfer and offset efforts – an outlay that covers facilities, training programs and all necessary support and innovation concerned about without equal build-up of helicopters on a brand new Helibras final assembly line at Itajubá within the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.
To date, seven EC725s for the Brazilian military produced by Eurocopter in France had been delivered within the first phase of Brazil’s acquisition and an eighth would be delivered before the tip of the year. The following batch of helicopters already is in Itajubá, with a number of them undergoing partial build-up at the Helibras final assembly line. After testing and acceptance, they are going to be delivered beginning in early 2014.
As a part of the batch, one EC725 might be used for the improvement and integration of systems. Here’s the primary helicopter to was processed through every assembly station stage within the company’s Minas Gerais final assembly line.
The EC725 is Eurocopter’s latest member of its Super Puma/Cougar helicopter family. As a highly capable twin-engine helicopter within the 11-metric-ton category, it’s designed for multiple missions, including combat search and rescue, long-range tactical transport, aeromedical transport, logistic support and naval duties.
Established in 1992, the Franco-German-Spanish Eurocopter Group is a division of EADS, a worldwide leader in aerospace and defense-related services. The Eurocopter Group employs approximately 22,000 people. In 2012, Eurocopter confirmed its position because the world’s No. 1 helicopter manufacturer with a turnover of 6.3 billion Euros, orders for 469 new helicopters and a 44 percent market share within the civil and parapublic sectors.
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