India Is Among The Top 4 Light Military Helicopter Manufacturers

Here is a quick look at the four major light military helicopter manufacturers.

1. Airbus Helicopters

Headquarters: Marignane, France

CEO: Guillaume Faury

 Although until 2014, the company was still known as Eurocopter, the history of Airbus Helicopters traced back to Messerschmitt in Germany and Blériot in France. In 1992, the helicopter divisions of DASA (Daimler-Benz Aerospace AG) and Aérospatiale merged together to form Eurocopter.

Airbus Helicopters built four primary manufacturing areas in Europe and more than 30 subsidiary factories around the world. In 2014, the company announced its name change, from Eurocopter to Airbus Helicopters. At the Orlando’s Heli Expo in 2015, the company announced that the names its current helicopters that were in production would also be changed.

The company produces a wide range of helicopters, from civil to military ones. One of its most well-known helicopters is the Dauphin, a medium-sized helicopter with more than 1,000 units sold.

The Dauphin had been such a great success that the company invested in an estimated amount of money worth $1.12 billion to build its successor. At the 2015 Orlando HAL event, the company formally launched the H160 to replace the AS365 and the EC155 models.

2. China’s Avicopter

Headquarters: Beijing, China

CEO: Tan Ruisong

Aviation Industry Corporation of China or Avicopter is a Chinese state-owned defense and aerospace corporation. The company is known as one of the world’s premier aerospace and defense companies and ranks 159th in the annual ranking Fortune Global 500.  Avicopter has more than 100 subsidiaries, 27 listed firms 500,000 employees worldwide.

In July 1999, Avicopter was split into two different units: China Aviation Industry Corporation I and China Aviation Industry Corporation II.

In October 2008, the two merged together due to split resources and redundant projects. Avicopter’s main focus is to develop local military technologies successfully and to compete with Boeing and Airbus.

3. Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd of India

Headquarters: Bangalore, Karnataka, India

CEO: R Madhavan

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is a state-owned defense and aerospace company from India. It is under the management of the country’s Ministry of Defence.

The corporation is primarily in charge of aerospace’s operations. At the moment, the company also takes part in designing, fabricating, and assembling aircraft, helicopters, jet engines as well as their spare parts.

Hindustan Aeronautics has several facilities across India which include Kasaragod, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Lucknow, Koraput, Kanpur, Korwa, and Nasik.

The HF-24 Marut fighter/bomber from HAL became India’s first fighter aircraft made in the country.

Bell Helicopter

Headquarters: Fort Worth, Texas

CEO: John Garrison

The history of Bell can be traced back in 1935 when the company was founded in New York City. The company’s specialization was designing and assembling fighter aircraft. Bell held the honor of building the first made-in-the-US fighter jet, the P-59 Airacomet.

Moreover, the company also built the first helicopter, which was rated by the civil aviation authority. Bell’s second helicopter was the Bell 47. After its official launch during the 1940s, the company went on to deliver more than 5,600 aircraft.

In 1959, Bell’s biggest helicopter, the UH-1 Huey was brought into service. There were about 16,000 units of the aircraft produced at that time. In 1960, Textron acquired the company and split it into three different divisions.

At the moment, the company produces both military and civil helicopters. However, most of its recent helicopters have been civilian.