Tuesday
December 21, 1999 :
The Greek Authorities Take Delivery of Their First Two SAR Super Puma Helicopters
Marignane, France ( Eurocopter Press Release ) -
In Athens, the Greek Authorities officially took delivery of their first two AS 332 C1 Super Puma Helicopters, which are to be used for maritime surveillance and search and rescue (SAR) missions.
It is noteworthy that this delivery took place only 15 months after the signature of the contract worth 60 million USD with Eurocopter for the acquisition of 4 helicopters. The other two helicopters will be delivered in March 2000.
The helicopters will be carrying out their SAR missions primarily over the Aegean sea, where maritime traffic has always been one of the busiest in the Mediterranean, and part of their mission equipment includes a Bendix 1500B radar capable or detecting small boats at long distances, a Thomson-CIF "CLIO" FLIR for night-time search missions, a Spectrolab searchlight, loud hailers, a hoist with a capacity of 272 kg (600 lb), jettisonable life rafts, an air ambulance installation including stretchers and a system for flight in moderate icing conditions.
Moreover, the Super Pumas are equipped with a Sextant NADIR MK2 self-contained navigation system associated with a SFIM 155 autopilot system with higher order modes that authorize automatically controlled transitions and hover flight.
It is interesting to note that to date almost 550 helicopters from the Super Puma / Cougar family have already been ordered from Eurocopter by 70 customers in 45 countries.
Eurocopter is a joint venture of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG and Aerospatiale Matra SA. The two parent companies and CASA of Spain are merging to form the European Aeronautic, Defense and Space Company (EADS) one of the three leading aerospace companies in the world.
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