LUXURY AND UTILITY COMBINED - Eurocopter

06 EVENTS
JUNE 22, 2010
FIRST OFFICIAL FLIGHT
OF THE SURION
The Korean Utility Helicopter
(KUH) (1) , dubbed the Surion, performed
its first official flight in Sacheon,
South Korea. Eurocopter representatives
attended the ceremony along
with the French and German ambassadors
to South Korea and General
Argenson from the French Armament
Procurement Agency (DGA). The successful
flight came after a busy three
months of flight tests that began following
the first flight of the prototype
on March 10. Eurocopter has been providing
the necessary technical support
for the program, which was launched
in 2006, to ensure things go off without
a hitch. A team of 30 Eurocopter engineers
are on permanent assignment in
South Korea, and Eurocopter is also
manufacturing some of the helicopter’s
subassemblies, such as the automatic
pilot, gearboxes, and rotor mast.
(1) Korean Utility Helicopter
© DR
ROTOR JOURNAL - NO.87 - OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2010
© Thomas Julien
JUNE 14 TO 18, 2010
EUROSATORY 2010
At the Eurosatory 2010 Defense Week held
in Paris, Eurocopter presented for the first
time the EC645, the military version of the
EC145. Other helicopters in the range were
also on display: a full-scale mockup of the
NH90 in dual configuration (tactical transport
and navy), a Tiger (in the French Army
display area), an EC725, an AS550 Fennec,
an AS565 Panther and an EC635. In addition,
Eurocopter and the SIAé (1) signed a
five-year cooperative agreement covering
support services for France’s military helicopters.
(1) Service Industriel de l’Aéronautique: the French joint armed
services agency for aeronautics maintenance.