Airbus Helicopters ramps up H160 production capacity ahead of first military deliveries to France

With the production rate of the H160 final assembly line in Marignane now set at 35 to 40 airframes per year, Airbus Helicopters is now looking to ramp up to about 60 per year. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)

Airbus Helicopters is building up the production capacity of the H160 helicopter at its Marignane facility in Southern France, ahead of the commencement of deliveries of the military variant to the French Armed Forces in 2028.

Speaking to Janes and other defence media at the site of the final assembly line (FAL) on 14 October, the head of the H160M programme, Vincent Chenot, said that with more than 100 civil-variant H160s having gone through or now on the line, the facility is to be significantly expanded to accommodate a nearly doubling of the production rate for both civil and military customers.

“The FAL is now optimised for between 35 and 40 helicopters per year, but it is our intention to get that up to 60 per year,” Chenot said. “We will extend the building so that there is one line for civil and military production,” he added.

The H160's construction represents a new production method for Airbus Helicopters, with its fuselage manufactured at the company's facility in Donauwörth in Germany, tailbooms in Spain, and avionics and other dynamic components – such as gearboxes and rotor blades – at sites throughout France, including Paris and Marignane.

Chenot's comments came about three months after Airbus had begun flight trials of the H160M Guépard (Cheetah) helicopter for the French Armed Forces, with the maiden flight of the first of three prototypes at Marignane on 24 July.