The SAMU 26 emergency medical helicopter service supports urgent medical response operations across the Drôme department in southeastern France and operates in coordination with the regional emergency network centered around the Hôpital de Valence. As part of France’s Service d’Aide Médicale Urgente system, the helicopter component is operated under a public-private partnership model in which
SAF Hélicoptères provides the aircraft, flight crews, and aviation maintenance support while hospital-based emergency physicians and SAMU dispatch teams manage the medical aspects of the missions. This structure allows regional healthcare authorities to maintain a dedicated Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) capability integrated directly into the wider SAMU-SMUR emergency response framework. The helicopter is routinely deployed for severe trauma cases, cardiac emergencies, inter-hospital intensive care transfers, and rapid medical evacuations throughout the Drôme region and neighboring territories.
The service currently operates a Airbus H145D3, configured as a flying intensive care unit for advanced medical transport missions. The aircraft is particularly suited to the geographical conditions of the region, which range from the Rhône Valley lowlands to mountainous alpine terrain along the edge of southeastern France. Equipped for high-altitude operations and adverse weather conditions, the H145 enables rapid access to isolated rural sectors and mountain communities while supporting mutual-aid rescue operations extending into adjacent departments such as Ardèche. Through its combination of modern aviation infrastructure and physician-led emergency care, the SAMU 26 helicopter service plays a major role in regional critical care transport and pre-hospital emergency medicine.
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