Germany exercises option for more H145M LKH helicopters
An Airbus H145M helicopter of the type that Germany has now ordered 82 of to equip both its army and air force. (Airbus Helicopters)
Germany has exercised its option to buy 20 more H145M Leichter Kampfhubschrauber (LKH) helicopters to add to the 62 already contracted in December 2023.
Airbus Helicopters announced the follow-on sale on 15 December, saying the German Army (Heer) will receive 72 helicopters, with the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) special operations forces (SOF) receiving 10. Deliveries of the initial 62 H145M LKH helicopters were due to be concluded by the end of 2028, while no completion date has been disclosed for the now expanded order of 82 helicopters.
News of the additional buy came 13 months after Airbus Helicopters delivered the first H145M LKH helicopter from its Donauwörth production facility to the German armed forces in November 2024. With these initial deliveries equipping the German Army's International Helicopter Training Centre at Bückeburg, in the north of the country, the first helicopter to be used in the light attack role was delivered earlier in 2025. Airbus Helicopters did not divulge the precise number of deliveries to date.
The H145M LKH will join 15 H145Ms operated by the Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK) special forces and nine (with further orders expected) H145 Light Utility Helicopters (LUHs) that the Heer uses in the search-and-rescue role. The type will be operated out of Bückeburg; Heer stations in Niederstetten, Fritzlar, and Faßberg; as well as the Luftwaffe base in Laupheim.
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