Airbus Helicopters has broken ground on a final assembly line in China for the H135, the company announced on 27 May.
Located in Qingdao, Shandong Province, construction of the final assembly line is expected to be completed by 2018. It is significant in that this is the first such facility for any Western OEM within China.
Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus Helicopters, commented, ‘˜This ground breaking is a remarkable milestone for Airbus Helicopters’ global footprint and demonstrates our commitment to further enhancing our industrial cooperation with China’s rapidly growing aviation industry.’
The ground breaking follows a framework agreement signed in June 2016 that called for 100 H135s to be assembled over the following ten years, with the first aircraft roll-out from Qingdao due in mid-2019. The line will have an annual capacity of 18 H135s, although this could be expanded if there is demand.
A firm order for 20 rotorcraft has already been lodged, Philippe Monteux, Airbus Helicopters’ head of region for Southeast Asia and Pacific, confirmed to Shephard.
The facility in the Jimo Provincial Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone will be jointly operated by Airbus Helicopters and the Qingdao United General Aviation Company, with the European conglomerate holding a 51% majority share.
The latter is a joint venture between the China Aviation Supplies Holding Company and Qingdao United General Aviation Industrial Development Company Limited.
Li Hai, president of China Aviation Supplies, remarked, ‘˜The H135 final assembly line is another strong example of Sino-European cooperation and will play an important role in further promoting the development of China’s general aviation industry.’
The light twin-engine helicopter H135 is already used in China for missions such as HEMS, SAR, law enforcement, firefighting and tourism.
Monteux acknowledged that the H135 is an older model ‘“ it was introduced 20 years ago ‘“ but its avionics have been upgraded.
With the civil helicopter market set to boom in China, the European OEM is obviously keen to expand its presence and to establish a stronger local presence. According to Airbus Helicopters, China became its largest civil market in terms of bookings in 2016.
The company foresees demand for 600 light twin-engine civil helicopters in China over the next 20 years.
Airbus, and its forerunner entities, has had a long association with Chinese aviation. The Harbin Aircraft Industry Group has licence-produced the Dauphin as the Z-9 for many years, plus the Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation reverse-engineered the Aérospatiale SA321 Super Frelon as the Z-8.
The fact that the People’s Liberation Army extensively uses the Z-9 is a sensitive issue for Airbus Helicopters, as there is a long-standing European embargo against selling military equipment to China.
Production of the dual-use Z-9 family within China has seen the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute consistently list France as a supplier of military equipment to China.
For example, data generated by SIPRI lists 45 Z-9C naval helicopters being transferred to China from 1989-2016, and 417 examples of the Z-9A/B/G/WZ being manufactured from 1992-2016.
SIPRI also lists the production of 75 Z-11 helicopters, a locally built version of the Fennec, from 1995-2011.
