AIRBUS HELICOPTERS announced on April 1, 2019, that the Icelandic Coast Guard (ICG) is acquiring two H225 Super Puma heavy SAR helicopters.
The two helicopters are leased from Norwegian lessor Knut Axel Ugland Holding AS and will both have been delivered by the end of April 2019. They will replace two of the ICG’s current fleet of three Aerospatiale AS332L1 Super Puma helicopters in the first step of the organisation’s renewal of its rotary-wing fleet.
Airbus Helicopters is providing pilot and technician training and maintenance and support for the leased helicopters and the manufacturer said the ICG plans to purchase a permanent replacement for all three helicopters by the end of 2022. Director of Flight Operations for the ICG, Commander S.G. Sindri Steingrimsson, said: “The experience with our current fleet of Super Pumas has been excellent through the years.
Overall, they have done a fantastic job for us here at the Icelandic Coast Guard, in some of the most challenging conditions for aircraft SAR operations in the world …We fully expect that the new Super Pumas will add great value to the safety and security of our operations, increasing capability and reliability, while at the same time modernising our technological standards to meet current needs.”
