Brunei orders six H145M helicopters from Airbus

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — Brunei has purchased six H145M helicopters from Airbus Helicopters as the Southeast Asian nation recapitalizes its fleet for close air support, surveillance and other operations.

The order follows a 2011 acquisition under Phase A of Brunei’s Support Helicopter Project for 12 Sikorsky-made S-70i Black Hawk helicopters.

The latest purchase for the Royal Brunei Air Force is part of Phase B. It’s unclear how much the contract is worth.

The Defense Ministry said the contract signing took place April 30 at Bolkiah Garrison, where the ministry’s is based. “All six helicopters will be introduced into service gradually starting from the year 2026 to replace the Bolkow Bo 105 helicopters, which have been retired from service,” the ministry stated.

Airbus Helicopters announced the sale May 2, but neither party mentioned whether the H145Ms would be armed. Still, the platform can carry 12.7mm machine guns, 20mm cannon pods, 70mm rockets, or air-to-ground missiles. The Bo 105 fleet was armed.

Among the H145M’s operational capabilities are medical evacuation and special forces missions. The helicopter might also become part of a manned-unmanned teaming fleet, as a console can be fitted in the rear cabin for controlling drones. Brunei already operates Insitu Integrator reconnaissance drones.

No. 1 Wing will fly the new H145Ms from Rimba Air Force Base, according to the Defense Ministry. It’s likely the aircraft will be allocated to No. 12 Squadron, the former operator of the Bo 105s. In their 41 years of service, those aircraft clocked about 32,000 flying hours.

Last month, the U.K. Defence Ministry announced it would buy six H145Ms for use by British forces in Brunei and Cyprus, meaning there will be some commonality between British and Bruneian helicopter operations in the sultanate. Thailand is the only other nation in Southeast Asia to adopt the H145M to date.

Brunei also has a pair of older Bell 206B-3 JetRanger helicopters used for training, though they’re due for replacement.

For the current fiscal year, Brunei allotted 796.3 million Brunei dollars (U.S. $589.3 million) for defense, representing a 31.6% jump over last year’s budget.

Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified the program phase under which Brunei ordered Black Hawk helicopters. That was Phase A.

Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.

新西兰基督城——东南亚国家文莱从空中客车直升机公司购买了六架H145M直升机，以更新其机队，用于近距离空中支援、监视和其他行动。

此前，文莱于 2011 年根据其支援直升机项目 A 阶段采购了 12 架西科斯基制造的 S-70i 黑鹰直升机。

文莱皇家空军的最新采购属于B阶段项目。目前尚不清楚合同金额。

国防部表示，合同签署仪式于4月30日在国防部所在地博尔基亚驻军举行。国防部声明称：“这六架直升机将从2026年开始逐步投入使用，以取代已退役的博尔科夫Bo 105直升机。”

空客直升机公司于5月2日宣布了这笔交易，但双方均未提及H145M直升机是否会配备武器。不过，该平台可以携带12.7毫米机枪、20毫米机炮吊舱、70毫米火箭弹或空地导弹。Bo 105机队则配备了武器。

H145M的作战能力包括医疗后送和特种部队任务。该直升机还可以加入有人-无人机协同作战机队，因为其后舱可以安装控制台来控制无人机。文莱目前已在使用Insitu Integrator侦察无人机。

据国防部消息，第1联队将从林巴空军基地起飞装备新型H145M直升机。这些飞机很可能将分配给此前装备Bo 105直升机的第12中队。Bo 105服役41年，累计飞行时间约32000小时。

上个月，英国国防部宣布将采购六架H145M直升机供驻文莱和塞浦路斯的英军使用，这意味着英国和文莱在文莱的直升机行动将有一些共同之处。迄今为止，泰国是东南亚唯一一个也装备了H145M直升机的国家。

文莱还有两架较老的贝尔206B-3 JetRanger直升机用于训练，不过它们已经到了需要更换的时候了。

本财政年度，文莱拨款 7.963 亿文莱元（5.893 亿美元）用于国防，比上一年的预算增长了 31.6%。

更正：此前报道错误地指出了文莱订购黑鹰直升机的项目阶段。正确的是A阶段。

戈登·阿瑟是《防务新闻》的亚洲特派记者。在香港工作20年后，他现居新西兰。他曾到访亚太地区约20个国家，参加过军事演习和防务展览。