H145M – Airbus Helicopters tests Spike guided missile in Romania
The European helicopter manufacturer Airbus Helicopters is working on the capability expansion of its HForce mission package for the H145M military helicopter. According to the company, the first tests on the integration of Rafael's Spike ER2 guided missile have started at the Cincu firing range in Romania.
As part of the so-called derisking phase, initial investigations were carried out in January to assess the effects of the missile launch on the helicopter. The next step is to integrate the Spike anti-tank missile into the helicopter's HForce system.
Equipped with the HForce system, the H145M is already capable of deploying a 12.7mm machine gun, a 20mm cannon, and laser-guided and unguided rockets up to 70mm caliber.
So far, users of the H145M are Hungary (20 machines), Germany (15), Serbia (9), Thailand (5) and Luxembourg (2). According to Airbus Helicopters, the machine will also be offered to the Romanian armed forces by long-standing local partner IAR.
lh / editorial office