Kuwait H225 deliveries begin

The ministry’s undersecretary, Lieutenant General Mahmoud Al-Dousari, formally welcomed the aircraft during an official reception ceremony at Kuwait International Airport.
The aircraft will serve with the Kuwait Police Rotary Wing, and are reportedly to be based at the Kuwait City Heliport, though the unit was previously based at Kuwait International Airport/Al Mubarak Air Base.
They join a pair of Airbus AS365N3+ Dauphin III medium helicopters, delivered last November, and one more AS365N3s, delivered back in 2005.
Another AS365N3 was written off in a hangar fire on May 24 this year.
The police also operate an ex-air force Puma and a Gazelle (which are expected to be withdrawn from use imminently, if, indeed, they have not already been retired), and two EC135T1s, delivered in 2001.
Specialist Aviation Services has supported the Kuwait Police Flying Wing with engineering services since 2006.
The newly delivered rotorcraft are expected to be augmented by two more H225s. The helicopters represent just one element in a wider plan to develop and enhance the provision of security services in Kuwait.
One of the H225s delivered in February was painted in gloss blue and was configured as a VVIP transport helicopter. The other was in a black and yellow colour scheme similar to that applied to the AS365N3+ helicopters. It was equipped for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and search and rescue (SAR) duties.
The Airbus H225, previously known as the Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma, is also being acquired for the Kuwait Air Force (KAF) and the National Guard under the terms of a 2016 contract.
Twenty-four are due to be delivered to the KAF with six going to the National Guard. However, the deal, for 30 militarised H225Ms, has been referred to the country’s National Anti-Corruption Commission (NAZHA) and State Audit Bureau (SAB) at the request of Kuwait’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah.