Eurocopter receives firm order for 17 EC135 from Turkey

Eurocopter has received a firm order for 17 twin-engine EC135s from the Turkish Aeronautical Association’s THK Gökçen Aviation commercial arm, which will use the helicopters to perform medical airlift duties.

The firm order is the latest major contract for the EC135 rotorcraft in the international emergency medical services (EMS) marketplace.

The new helicopters were selected by the team of THK Gökçen Aviation and Saran Holding, which secured a five-year air ambulance service contract from the Turkish Ministry of Health to provide life-critical services.

Operations are expected to begin in August this year, initially with five EC135s, followed by a build-up to the full complement of 17 rotary-wing aircraft.

Eurocopter Sales and Customer Relations senior vice-president Olivier Lambert said that the company was committed to supporting Turkey in emergency medical services, which is one of the most critical uses of a helicopter.

"We are proud to be working with THK Gökçen Aviation in demonstrating the direct benefit of our helicopters to the Turkish population," Lambert said.

Eurocopter stated that Turkey’s selection further represented the company’s competitiveness in a growing market, where the EC135 is the helicopter of reference in EMS worldwide.

The EC135 features a wide cabin and offers high performance, range and payload capacities, as well as low-noise operations, according to Eurocopter.

Designed to accommodate a maximum of eight passengers and featuring Fenestron shrouded tail rotor, the 3t light twin-engine helicopter provides easy maintenance, manoeuvrability, high-visibility and low vibration levels.

About 1,095 EC135s are in service worldwide, with 500 rotorcraft having been delivered in EMS configurations.

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Image: The Turkish Aeronautical Association’s THK Gökçen Aviation commercial arm will operate the new EC135s rotorcraft to perform emergency medical services (EMS) operations. Photo: courtesy of Eurocopter.