Germany spends $2.3 billion on Airbus light attack helicopters

COLOGNE, Germany — The German Defence Ministry has signed a contract with Airbus for 62 H145M light attack helicopters, with a portion of the fleet equipped to fight tanks from afar — a direct lesson from the fighting in Ukraine.

Under the order, 57 of the aircraft will go to the Army and five to Air Force special operations forces. Twenty more are envisioned under a future option, Airbus Helicopters said in a Dec. 14 statement. Deliveries will begin in 2024, according to the vendor.

German lawmakers approved the requisite funding request of €2.1 billion (U.S. $2.3 billion) on Dec. 13. All aircraft will be capable of carrying an armaments package that is slated to include the Spike LR guided anti-tank missile, but only 24 will initially be set up to that end, according to parliamentary defense sources in Berlin that spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic.

The purchase, including the envisioned anti-tank capabilities, comes against the backdrop of new insights into the requirement for standoff capabilities when countering tanks. In Ukraine, Russian helicopters were able to pick off Ukrainian armored vehicles by firing their missiles from a safe distance.

The latest version of the Spike LR missile, an Israeli design marketed by Eurospike in Europe, can reach targets 10 kilometers (6 miles) away when fired from helicopters, according to the manufacturer.

“We will ensure that the Bundeswehr [German military] receives the helicopters in accordance with the very ambitious delivery schedule which includes first deliveries in 2024 less than a year after contract signature,” said Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters.

The new helicopters are slated to replace Germany’s fleet of Tiger choppers. Despite the hefty buy, defense officials consider the H145M fleet a “bridging solution” until a new generation of drones and loitering munitions are ready for fielding in the longer term.

The H145M is a military-specific derivative of a family of helicopters also available to the law enforcement market. The German military already operates 24 of the twin-engine aircraft for special operations as well as search and rescue missions, an Airbus statement read. The U.S. Army’s 500-strong fleet of Lakota light utility helicopters is based on the same design.

Sebastian Sprenger is associate editor for Europe at Defense News, reporting on the state of the defense market in the region, and on U.S.-Europe cooperation and multi-national investments in defense and global security. Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. He is based in Cologne, Germany.

德国科隆——德国国防部与空客公司签署了一份合同，订购 62 架 H145M 轻型攻击直升机，其中一部分直升机配备了远程打击坦克的能力——这是从乌克兰战争中直接吸取的教训。

根据订单，其中57架飞机将交付陆军，5架交付空军特种作战部队。空客直升机公司在12月14日的一份声明中表示，未来还计划增购20架。据供应商称，交付工作将于2024年开始。

12月13日，德国议员批准了所需的21亿欧元（23亿美元）拨款申请。所有飞机都将能够携带包括“长钉”LR制导反坦克导弹在内的武器装备，但据柏林议会国防消息人士透露，最初只有24架飞机将为此进行改装。由于该话题的敏感性，这些消息人士要求匿名。

此次采购，包括设想中的反坦克能力，是在人们对对抗坦克时远程打击能力的需求有了新的认识的背景下进行的。在乌克兰，俄罗斯直升机能够从安全距离发射导弹，摧毁乌克兰的装甲车辆。

据制造商称，以色列设计的 Spike LR 导弹的最新版本，由 Eurospike 公司在欧洲销售，从直升机上发射时可以击中 10 公里（6 英里）外的目标。

“我们将确保德国联邦国防军按照雄心勃勃的交付计划接收直升机，其中包括在合同签署后不到一年的 2024 年进行首次交付，”空中客车直升机公司首席执行官布鲁诺·埃文表示。

这些新型直升机计划取代德国现有的虎式直升机机队。尽管采购金额巨大，但国防官员认为H145M机队只是“过渡方案”，直到新一代无人机和巡飞弹准备就绪，可以长期部署为止。

H145M是空客公司旗下直升机系列的军用衍生机型，该系列直升机也面向执法部门市场销售。空客公司在一份声明中表示，德国军方已装备24架双引擎H145M直升机，用于特种作战以及搜救任务。美国陆军拥有500架拉科塔轻型通用直升机，其设计也基于同一系列直升机。

塞巴斯蒂安·斯普伦格是《防务新闻》欧洲版副主编，负责报道该地区的防务市场状况，以及美欧在防务和全球安全领域的合作和多国投资。此前，他曾担任《防务新闻》执行主编。他现居德国科隆。