The extremely popular military derivatives of the light, twin-engined Airbus H145 were present in force at the ILA Berlin Airshow, with three different examples on display.
A Heeresflieger (German Army Aviation)-operated H145 Light Utility Helicopter Search and Rescue (LUH SAR) – serial 77+03, noticeable by its dayglo markings – is one of seven examples operated by 7 Staffel (Squadron) of the Transporthubschrauberregiment 30 (THR 30, Transport Helicopter Regiment 30) at Niederstetten. The unit is tasked with serving three Luftwaffe (German Air Force) bases in the SAR role, having taken over from the Vietnam-era Bell UH-1D Iroquois (Huey) in 2020.
Single examples of the H145 are based at Niederstetten, Nörvenich and Holzdorf, while there is always one on standby at the type’s home base, where two are used for training and another is usually undergoing maintenance by Airbus Helicopters either at Niederstetten (for light attention) or Baden-Baden for heavier maintenance work.
