First operational mission for the H160 crew in Cherbourg!
The H160 is part of the Navy's interim fleet and is currently conducting rescue missions at sea while awaiting the arrival of the H160M Cheetah light joint helicopter.
For this very first operational mission, the crew of the H160 was requested by the CROSS Jobourg in the early morning.
The crew thus took off in less than 30 minutes, to carry out a search at sea north of the Channel Islands following the disappearance of a passenger on a ship making the connection between Portsmouth and Jersey. Unfortunately, the 2 hour search failed to find the missing person.
This first engagement confirms that the 32F/Cherbourg detachment is now operational and has fully ensured the succession of the 33F flotilla detachment.
French Navy’s 32F Squadron, based at Cherbourg and equipped with the “interim helicopter” Airbus H160, completed its first search and rescue (SAR) mission on Sunday, July 23
Babcock is leasing 6 H160 helicopters to the French Navy for 10 years to conduct search and rescue missions in the Atlantic and the Channel. This interim measure will be in place until the dedicated-variant H160M Cheetah becomes available