We have been awarded a 10-year contract, together with Airbus Helicopters, to provide in service support to the entire fleet of H145 of the Direction Générale de la Sécurité civile and the Gendarmerie nationale, helping to safeguard communities across France.
Awarded by the French Ministry of Armed Forces Directorate of Aeronautical Maintenance (DMAé), the contract covers support to 46 Airbus H145 helicopters which provide search and rescue, air medical transport, and internal security missions, across mainland France and overseas territories.
This includes 40 aircraft for Sécurité civile and six new H145 helicopters for the Gendarmerie nationale, which will replace the current Airbus EC145-C2 fleet. The new contract also includes an option for 22 additional helicopters for the Gendarmerie nationale.
We will provide support from our maintenance centre in Cannet-des-Maures, and will be responsible for central technical assistance, certain aircraft components, mission equipment, and associated ground support assets.
Pierre Basquin, CEO of Babcock France, said: “The Sécurité civile and Gendarmerie nationale play a vital role in protecting our citizens. Babcock is proud to support their mission by ensuring the operational availability of its new H145 fleet. This contract builds on our long-standing military and civil aviation support in France.”
We’ve supported the Gendarmerie nationale and Customs services’ daily operations by ensuring operational readiness of its Airbus H135 helicopter fleet since 2016. In 2023, in partnership with Airbus Helicopters, we expanded our support to four newly delivered H145s for Sécurité civile. The cooperation last year extended to EC145-C2 helicopters, operated by both Sécurité civile and the Gendarmerie nationale.