Helicopter emergency medical services supporting French SAMU networks are frequently operated through partnerships with specialized private aviation contractors such as
SAF Hélicoptères,
Babcock MCS France, and
Mont Blanc Hélicoptères. Under this model, the aviation provider supplies the aircraft, pilots, maintenance infrastructure, and regulatory compliance, while hospital-based SAMU teams provide the emergency physicians, nurses, and medical coordination personnel.
Because a typical point-to-point HEMS mission within a French department rarely exceeds 80 to 90 kilometers, a single fuel load often provides enough operational autonomy for crews to perform multiple consecutive emergency patient transfers and primary rescue missions without requiring immediate refueling between flights. This operational flexibility is especially important during periods of high activity, allowing helicopters to remain continuously available for urgent dispatches while minimizing turnaround times on hospital helipads.
| C/N | Mod | Built | ID In this Org | In other Org |
|---|
| 2129 | ec135t3h | 2020 | F-HAXE SAMU op by MBH
|  F-HAXE: MBH for SAMU Aug20, test serial D-HECQ
|
| 2132 | ec135t3h | 2020 | F-HDCO SAMU71 SAMU, op by MBH
| F-HDCO: MBH Oct20 for SAMU, test serial D-HCBC
|
| 1198 | ec135t3 | | F-HLCF SAMU, op by SAF;
pictured at Perpignan
| F-HLCF: SAF Helicopteres from Jan16, test serial D-HECX
|
| 1252 | ec135t3 | | F-HLCG SAMU, op by SAF
| F-HLCG: SAF Helicopteres from Feb17, test serial D-HCBO
|
| 1254 | ec135t3 | | F-HLCH SAMU, op by SAF, pictured ;
Franche-Comté
| F-HLCH: SAF Helicopteres from Mar17, test serial D-HCBC
|
| 2054 | ec135t3h | 2018 | F-HLCI SAMU42 SAMU, op by SAF
| F-HLCI: SAF Helicopteres at Aérodrome d'Albertville from May18...
|
| 2099 | ec135t3h | | F-HLCJ SAMU42
| F-HLCJ: SAF Helicopteres from Jan20, for SAMU, test serial D-HC...
|
| 2197 | ec135t3h | | F-HLCL SAMU66 SAMU 66, op by SAF
| F-HLCL: SAF Helicopteres from Mar23, test serial D-HCBE
|
| 1260 | ec135t3 | 2017 | F-HLNA noted in SAMU 86 colours at Mérignac.
| - : Iris Helicopter Leasing 2 Ltd at Dublin, Ireland
F-HLNA: Babcock MCS France from Jun17
|
| 1263 | ec135t3 | 2017 | F-HLNO SAMU33 op by Babcock MCS France
|  D-HCBH: Airbus Germany Jul17
F-HLNO: Iris Helicopter Leasing 2 Ltd, Dublin, Ireland from Nov...
Babcock Mission Critical Services France from Nov17
|
| 2125 | ec135t3h | 2020 | F-HNEV SAMU Jul20, op by MBH
| F-HNEV: MBH SAMU from Jul20, test serial D-HECK
|
| 2156 | ec135t3h | 2021 | F-HRMB SAMU 25 op by MBH
| F-HRMB: MBH from Aug21 for SAMU, test serial D-HCBN
|
| 1248 | ec135t3 | | F-HUMS SAMU from Jun17, op by MBH
| F-HUMS: MBH SAMU from Jan17, test serial D-HCBJ
|
Deployments