And the Cougar wins the fight...

[kct 5]

It all started in 2007 when a Sea King crashed for the nth time in the many years it was in service with the RMAF, and now...after a competition between the Eurocopter EC 725, AgustaWestland EH101, Sikorsky S-92 and Mil MI-171, the winner is...

 

Eurocopter Awarded Tender To Replace Nuri

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 (Bernama) — The Defence Ministry has agreed to acquire new helicopters from European helicopter manufacturers, Eurocopter, to replace the Nuri, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced Friday.

 

He said the ministry was now scrutinising the clauses in the agreement before signing it officially with the company concerned.

 

"I have been told that the Defence Ministry has identified Eurocopter as the replacement for Nuri.

 

"The Defence Ministry had received many applications from international aircraft manufacturers and suppliers," Abdullah, who is also the Defence Minister, told reporters after attending a special briefing at Wisma Pertahanan, Jalan Padang Tembak, here.

 

On Sept 17, Abdullah handed over the post of Finance Minister to Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and took over the Defence Ministry. Abdullah had once held the Defence Minister's post from 1986 to 1987.

 

He said the selection of Eurocopter was based on the criteria stipulated by the Defence Ministry as well as the specifications of the helicopter.

 

"We go for the best. The selection was made without discrimination. The tender must be awarded properly," he said.

 

Abdullah said the time had come for the Nuri helicopters to be put out of commission as it had been used for a long time and had been involved in several fatal accidents.

 

Meanwhile, when asked how he felt about assuming the Defence Minister's post after 12 years, Abdullah said: "I feel good to be here again."

 

Asked about his priorities for the ministry, he said they included building living quarters for military officers and other ranks throughout the country.

 

On weaponry, he said the Defence Ministry had no problems with the existing weapon system.

 

"In terms of weaponry currently, there is no problem but the armaments will be upgraded according to the country's needs," Abdullah said.

 

In another development, he said Datuk Tiki Lafe had been appointed to succeed Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye as Chairman of the National Service Training Council.

 

– BERNAMA

 

EC725 Cougar Helicopter Enhances Air Force's CSAR Capability

 

By Shahrullizan Rusli

 

SEREMBAN, Sept 28 (Bernama) -- The government's decision to replace its ageing Nuri helicopters with Eurocopter's EC725 Cougar helicopters has been hailed as a most appropriate decision.

 

Marhalim Abas, a local defence analyst and independent editor of the Asian Defence Journal, said Eurocopter already had a strong presence in the commercial market in Malaysia and this would the first time that the company would be selling its military helicopter to the air force.

 

"Eurocopter had also supplied the Fennec helicopter to the police and navy. The company's helicopters are also being used by the MHS Aviation Bhd," he told Bernama.

 

He expects the EC725 to be equipped with weapons and navigation systems similar to those fitted on the EC725 units owned by the French air force.

 

This include the night navigation system, which is not available in any of the air force's current fleet of helicopters, he said.

 

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also Defence Minister, announced yesterday that the EC725 would replace the Sikorsky S61-A4 Sea Kings or better known as Nuri.

 

It has been reported that the Malaysian government would acquire up to 12 EC725s.

 

Marhalim said several of the 12 helicopters could be configured and turned into combat search and rescue (CSAR) helicopters.

 

He was also confident that another tender would be opened as the 12 EC725s would not be sufficient to cater for the air force's needs, which would amount to at least 40 helicopters.

 

Eurocopter's representative in Malaysia for the EC725, Salleh Majid, said the helicopter had the speed and armour to enter into war zones as a CSAR helicopter.

 

"The EC725 is special as it has the ability to become a full-fledged CSAR helicopter and has the agility to move in and out of hot zones," he said when met recently.

 

He also said that the Nuri was only upgraded for search and rescue mission as it did not have the speed and armour required in a CSAR helicopter.

 

An industry source told Bernama that several international companies had bid hard to win the tender but it was clear that the EC725 was the strongest contender due to its ability to keep on flying even when running out of hydraulic oil.

 

The EC725 is an upgraded model of the AS532 Cougar and made its maiden flight in 2000 for the French's armed forces.

 

The EC725 had been involved in several high-profile CSAR operations including in the Operation Baliste, a French aeronaval operation off Lebanon in 2006 to transfer out European citizens during the height of Israeli offensive against Hezbollah positions.

 

The helicopter was also involved in supporting the French armed forces during the US-led war in Afghanistan.

 

The EC725 has a maximum speed of 324 kilometres per hour and the capacity of carrying 28 troops in addition to the crew.

 

Analysts predicted that the air force's EC725 would be fitted, among others, with radar warning receiver, 20mm cannons, rocket launchers and machine guns.

 

-- BERNAMA

 

What do you guys think?

 

Also, the kicker: The requirements mentioned that the helicopter must have a rear loading ramp...something the Cougar doesn't have (and it is the only one among the candidates not to have a rear loading ramp).

Edited October 4, 2008 by kct

[+bpao 2]

hello,

 

the EC725 are not a cougar .. his name is "caracal" it's something like a Super Cougar (like cougar is more than a Super Puma, and Super Puma more than first Puma)

 

it's a resco copter, use in France for special ops and pilots rescue.

 

follow this link : http://www.aviation-francaise.com/EC725.htm

 

sorry, text is in french.. but a lot of pics.

 

have fun.

 

:smile:

[kct 5]

Hmmm, information from Wiki turned up the EC 725 Cougar, but whatever that works with us. However, one of the most important considerations in the deal is that Eurocopter maintains a large regional facility around here (and they mentioned that they lobbied to the government to take the EC 725), so...too bad the NH90 wasn't one of the candidates.

Edited October 6, 2008 by kct

[+bpao 2]

i think, the wiki page have been create before the name choose.

 

and about the nh-90.. i think it's smaller than ec725 ..and the delay for release is long long long...

 

 

for me the only intersting copter for SAR is the Merlin (3 engine, build for SAR) .

 

but it's not a eurocopter.... and eurocopter have very good sellers.

 

;)

[kct 5]

True, checked the specs, it turns out that the EC 725 was slightly larger than the NH90 (and carry more personnel). And after the delays with the A400M, I don't think the government is taking any chances at a helicopter that would arrive much, much later than projected (the guys in the Sea Kings spoke of fear flying these ancient helis due to their safety record, they were scared).

 

Also, despite the fact that a lot of people favoured the Merlin, the thing is that most SAR operations we carry out around here are performed on mountainous areas, plus the fact that they are probably looking at something which can do just enough for the locals.

Edited October 7, 2008 by kct

[Guest 531_Ghost]

And here I thought this was going to be a,

Which HOTAS is better?

thread.

 

 

Personally, I like the NH90.