your name is edelweiss, each weighs 3,800 kilograms and cost a total of 145 million euros: the eight new helicopters for the Bavarian police. Prime Minister Markus Söder and Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (both CSU) presented the new H145 model on Tuesday afternoon. “The best technology must be there for the police,” emphasized Söder and spoke of a “four-ton powerhouse”. The police can only be successful with the most modern technology. “Unlike in other federal states, where the police are criticized, we stand by the police,” he said.
The new Airbus H145s replace the previous eight somewhat smaller EC135 helicopters, which have been in service for more than twelve years. The new helicopters should be in service for around 15 to 20 years. They have a larger cabin in which up to eight emergency personnel can fly twice as many as before. The pilots of the helicopter squadron have been trained on two helicopters since April. “Our goal is to replace the entire fleet with eight new H145 police helicopters over the next two years,” announced Interior Minister Herrmann.
The fire brigade, mountain rescue service, rescue service and civil protection also benefited from the new helicopters, as the interior minister announced. For example, 1000 liters of extinguishing water can be transported in special tanks – twice as much as in the previous model.
Franz Musk, head of the police helicopter squadron, emphasized that his team, together with the fire brigade, carry out the “first attack” in forest fires. “With the new helicopters, the police can support the fire brigade even better in fighting forest fires,” said Herrmann.
With a speed of up to 245 kilometers per hour, almost every place in Bavaria can be reached in a very short time. The faster flight speed is of considerable importance, among other things, for missing person searches, which accounted for more than 30 percent of flight orders. Last year, thanks to police helicopters, 110 missing people could have been found alive. In the future, up to six people could be brought on board with the rescue winch and eight people rescued without a stopover.
With a rope length of 90 meters and a load capacity of 300 kilograms, the area of application can be extended to the alpine region thanks to this winch. The previous rescue winch was 55 meters long and could lift 203 kilograms. The helicopters are to be stationed in Roth and at Munich Airport, the two locations of the helicopter squadron, for which around 120 emergency services work.