Thailand expands Super Puma fleet with Airbus H225 buy for rescue and medevac
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The Royal Thai Air Force signed a contract for two additional Airbus H225 helicopters dedicated to search-and-rescue and emergency medical missions. The purchase expands a fleet in service since 2015 and strengthens Thailand’s capacity for disaster response and national security.
Airbus Helicopters, on September 26, 2025, announced that the Royal Thai Air Force has signed a contract for two additional H225 helicopters earmarked for search and rescue and emergency medical missions. The follow-on buy grows Thailand’s Super Puma family, already in service since 2015, and will be completed locally by Thai Aviation Industries under its partnership with Airbus Helicopters. The announcement underscores a decade of operational use by the RTAF across CSAR, SAR, and troop transport, and signals continued reliance on heavy twin-engine lift for both national security and humanitarian response.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The Airbus H225 offers long-range endurance, heavy-lift capacity, and advanced autopilot systems tailored for combat search and rescue, medical evacuation, and tactical transport missions (Picture source: Airbus Helicopters).
The H225, known in its military configuration as the H225M Caracal, is a heavy-lift, long-range helicopter powered by two Safran Makila 2A1 turboshafts and a five-blade Spheriflex main rotor, a combination that favors range, payload, and low vibration over prolonged maritime and overland sorties. The type offers a roughly 600 nautical mile class range with seating for up to 28 troops and an external sling capacity of about 4,750 kilograms. In its military profile, the airframe typically cruises near 262 km/h and can reach up to 324 km/h, sustaining endurance of more than four hours on standard internal fuel. These figures place the Caracal at the upper end of the medium-heavy segment for endurance SAR and tactical transport.
For Thailand’s crews, the cockpit and automatic flight control system are the operational centerpiece. The H225 family carries a proven four-axis autopilot with SAR-dedicated upper modes such as search patterns, precise low-level automatic level-off, transition down to hover, and fly-away protection. The avionics suite supports RNP approaches down to LPV minima and provides real-time power margin awareness, reducing workload as missions shift from fast transit to high-precision hoist operations over water or mountainous terrain in poor visibility. In the cabin, quick role-change rails accommodate litters, medical kits, or troop seating, and the platform is cleared for multiple stretchers, belly or side hoists, and heavy underslung loads for disaster relief.
The Caracal’s military fit adds range, survivability, and flexibility for CSAR and special operations. Operators can equip the aircraft with self-protection suites, armor kits, door guns, and an optional in-flight refueling probe for extended legs from ship or shore. In Southeast Asia’s mixed maritime and jungle environment, the H225M’s de-icing certification and shipboard compatibility expand the weather and basing envelope, supporting rapid launches for cyclone response, flood rescues, and medevac from remote provinces to urban trauma centers. For the RTAF, the new pair dedicated to SAR and EMS aligns with a fleet concept where existing H225Ms continue to handle CSAR and tactical lift, allowing maintenance and training synergies across aircrews and ground personnel.
This procurement fits a broader Thai modernization arc and a maturing industrial link with Airbus. Completion work in Thailand through Thai Aviation Industries embeds sustainment know-how and accelerates fleet availability. Thailand has also been assessing long-range air mobility and refueling options, including next-generation tanker-transports, signaling interest in a balanced force structure that pairs fixed-wing reach with rotary-wing responsiveness. Regionally, the move keeps Thailand aligned with other Asia-Pacific H225M users and diversifies heavy-lift capacity while avoiding the lifecycle and interoperability risks of a one-type fleet. Airbus notes that more than 360 H225 and H225M helicopters are in service worldwide with close to a million accumulated flight hours, a data point that matters in procurement cultures where reliability and fleet commonality outweigh brochure speed.
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The Royal Thai Air Force signed a contract for two additional Airbus H225 helicopters dedicated to search-and-rescue and emergency medical missions. The purchase expands a fleet in service since 2015 and strengthens Thailand’s capacity for disaster response and national security.
Airbus Helicopters, on September 26, 2025, announced that the Royal Thai Air Force has signed a contract for two additional H225 helicopters earmarked for search and rescue and emergency medical missions. The follow-on buy grows Thailand’s Super Puma family, already in service since 2015, and will be completed locally by Thai Aviation Industries under its partnership with Airbus Helicopters. The announcement underscores a decade of operational use by the RTAF across CSAR, SAR, and troop transport, and signals continued reliance on heavy twin-engine lift for both national security and humanitarian response.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
The Airbus H225 offers long-range endurance, heavy-lift capacity, and advanced autopilot systems tailored for combat search and rescue, medical evacuation, and tactical transport missions (Picture source: Airbus Helicopters).
The H225, known in its military configuration as the H225M Caracal, is a heavy-lift, long-range helicopter powered by two Safran Makila 2A1 turboshafts and a five-blade Spheriflex main rotor, a combination that favors range, payload, and low vibration over prolonged maritime and overland sorties. The type offers a roughly 600 nautical mile class range with seating for up to 28 troops and an external sling capacity of about 4,750 kilograms. In its military profile, the airframe typically cruises near 262 km/h and can reach up to 324 km/h, sustaining endurance of more than four hours on standard internal fuel. These figures place the Caracal at the upper end of the medium-heavy segment for endurance SAR and tactical transport.
For Thailand’s crews, the cockpit and automatic flight control system are the operational centerpiece. The H225 family carries a proven four-axis autopilot with SAR-dedicated upper modes such as search patterns, precise low-level automatic level-off, transition down to hover, and fly-away protection. The avionics suite supports RNP approaches down to LPV minima and provides real-time power margin awareness, reducing workload as missions shift from fast transit to high-precision hoist operations over water or mountainous terrain in poor visibility. In the cabin, quick role-change rails accommodate litters, medical kits, or troop seating, and the platform is cleared for multiple stretchers, belly or side hoists, and heavy underslung loads for disaster relief.
The Caracal’s military fit adds range, survivability, and flexibility for CSAR and special operations. Operators can equip the aircraft with self-protection suites, armor kits, door guns, and an optional in-flight refueling probe for extended legs from ship or shore. In Southeast Asia’s mixed maritime and jungle environment, the H225M’s de-icing certification and shipboard compatibility expand the weather and basing envelope, supporting rapid launches for cyclone response, flood rescues, and medevac from remote provinces to urban trauma centers. For the RTAF, the new pair dedicated to SAR and EMS aligns with a fleet concept where existing H225Ms continue to handle CSAR and tactical lift, allowing maintenance and training synergies across aircrews and ground personnel.
This procurement fits a broader Thai modernization arc and a maturing industrial link with Airbus. Completion work in Thailand through Thai Aviation Industries embeds sustainment know-how and accelerates fleet availability. Thailand has also been assessing long-range air mobility and refueling options, including next-generation tanker-transports, signaling interest in a balanced force structure that pairs fixed-wing reach with rotary-wing responsiveness. Regionally, the move keeps Thailand aligned with other Asia-Pacific H225M users and diversifies heavy-lift capacity while avoiding the lifecycle and interoperability risks of a one-type fleet. Airbus notes that more than 360 H225 and H225M helicopters are in service worldwide with close to a million accumulated flight hours, a data point that matters in procurement cultures where reliability and fleet commonality outweigh brochure speed.
