BELFAST — Spain’s Directorate General for Armament and Material (DGAM) procurement agency has formally agreed to purchase 100 Airbus helicopters for an estimated €4.5 billion ($5.3 billion), including 50 new H145M training and light attack aircraft for its army.
The triple-figure rotorcraft order is comprised of four contracts and collectively “represent the largest helicopter purchase by the DGAM” to date, Airbus Helicopters said in a statement today.
An Airbus spokesperson also told Breaking Defense today that Spain’s Council of Ministers signed off on the budget ceilings for the total buy, which could ultimately exceed €4.5 billion, over the last six months.
“This amount covers the platforms and [government-furnished equipment]. The amount that will go to Airbus is around [€]4 billion,” the spokesperson added.
In addition to the hefty H145M order, Madrid will also acquire 31 NH90 helicopters, 13 H135 rotorcraft and six H175M super-medium utility models. Airbus said deliveries from the multi-billion-dollar deal will start in 2027. The Spanish Ministry of Defense did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
The four contracts are part of a national helicopter plan Spain revealed in May to modernize its local “defense and security assets,” Airbus noted.
The package of NH90 aircraft covers 13 for the Spanish army, 12 units for its air and space force and six for the navy, with deliveries beginning in 2031. Operationally, the future fleet is “destined for tactical transport, manoeuvre, and special operations missions, as well as completing the Navy’s amphibious warfare fleet,” according to Airbus.
In the navy’s case, this additional buy will likely see the future aircraft tailored to a modern special forces design, and bring its overall fleet of NH90 aircraft to 13 units.
Airbus plans to start delivering the collection of H135 helicopters in 2027, with 12 aircraft for the Spanish air and space force, and one unit for the navy. Spain plans to use the fleet for pilot training, light utility and observation missions.
Rounding out the mega-order, Airbus said all six Spanish air and space force H175M helicopters will undertake governmental missions and replace “obsolete fleets from Wing 48,” which flies the aging AS332M/AS532UL Super Puma. The order also makes Spain the first customer to buy a militarized version of the civil H175 helo.
“This investment is strategic and is focused on significantly increasing Spain’s security and defence capabilities, ensuring national strategic autonomy in a key sector of European defence,” said María Amparo Valcarce García, Spain’s secretary of state for defense, per the Airbus statement.
At an industrial level, the manufacturer said its Albacete facility, which produces NH90 fuselage sections, “will continue to grow” under plans for a new military helicopter customization center and a H145M international training center. The manufacturer also wants to develop the site into a center of expertise for digital capabilities.
H145M and H175M deliveries are slated to begin in 2028.