First Hungarian Air Force H225M noted
In December 2018 the Magyar Légierö (Hungarian Air Force) ordered sixteen Airbus Helicopters H225M multi-role helicopters equipped with the HForce weapon management system.
The helicopters will be used for Search and Rescue (SAR), special operations and for transport.
Early in July 2021, the Hungarian government commissioner Gáspár Maróth, responsible for defense developments, visited the Airbus Helicopters plant, Marseille – Marignane together with a few Hungarian journalists.
During this visit the first of six Special Operations Force (SOF) H225Ms, with construction number 590447 and customer code IRO011 was noted. The first H225M is expected to be delivered in 2025.
The order of the sixteen H225s is part of the ambitious “Zrinyi 2026” modernisation programme which the Hungarian Government launched at the end of 2016.
Since then a lot has changed within the Hungarian Air Force. Six Mi-24P and two Mi-24V attack helicopters have been overhauled in Russia. Twenty H145s, two A319s, two Falcon 7s, two Zlin 143s and six Zlin 242Ls have been delivered in the past few years.
Two KC-390s have been ordered and are expected to be delivered in 2023. For advanced training the Hungarian Government is considering the L-39NG or the Embraer EMB314 Super Tucano.
Photos by Benedek Levente