The Republic of Kazakhstan has received the first of six EC145 helicopters out of a total of 45 ordered from Eurocopter.

Eurocopter Kazakhstan Engineering, a new joint venture between Eurocopter and Kazakhstan Engineering, will assemble and customise EC145s at its facilities near Astana International Airport in Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan will use the twin-engine, medium-lift-class EC145, which is equipped with cockpit design, avionics and rotor system innovations, for search and rescue and medical evacuation missions.

The EC145 can operate in temperatures as low as -45°C and is suited to the harsh weather conditions of Kazakhstan.

Eurocopter Kazakhstan Engineering is scheduled to deliver the first six EC145s to the Kazakh Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Emergencies by 2011 and the remaining helicopters by the end of 2016.