DRF Luftrettung has selected Turbomeca’s (Safran) Arrius 2B2Plus engine to power its three new Airbus Helicopters H135. With these new Turbomeca-powered H135 fleet DRF Luftrettung will perform HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service) missions in Germany.

Franck Saudo, Turbomeca EVP Support & Services, said: “This is a further step that strengthens our relationship with DRF Luftrettung, and we are proud to be part of this continuing effort to provide medical assistance to the German people. The Arrius 2B2Plus combines state-of-the-art technology with best–in-class reliability. Its selection confirms the competitive advantage of our solution for the light and medium helicopter market.”

Steffen Lutz, CEO of DRF Luftrettung, said: “We have selected Arrius 2B2Plus on our new H135, equipped with Helionix, because it delivers higher mission capabilities and lower operating costs. It will allow our crews to operate with extra confidence in the most demanding mission environments.”

The 2B2Plus is the latest member of the Arrius family for twin helicopter which, with seven million recorded flight hours, is the most popular engine of its class. In addition to its unmatched reliability, its advantages over the earlier 2B2 variant include a six per cent power increase in hot and high conditions. This strongly contributes to the H135’s ability to carry more payload at the same altitude.

DRF Luftrettung is already operating a fleet of 11 Arriel 1E2-powered EC145/BK117C1 and 5 Arriel 2E-powered H145. DRF Luftrettung was the launching customer to operate the H145. These Arriel engines are supported through a Support By the Hour (SBH) contract. It delivers engine availability at a predictable cost per flight hour.

To date, Turbomeca has delivered more than 3,000 Arrius engines to 430 customers in 60 countries.

DRF Luftrettung operates 31 HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service) bases in Germany and Austria with over 50 helicopters for emergency rescue and intensive care transport between hospitals. For worldwide repatriation of patients DRF Luftrettung operates 365/24h dedicated ambulance jets based at the airport Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden (Germany). In 2015 the air rescue organization flew a total of 38,653 missions. A specially equipped offshore-helicopter is additionally based at Güttin (isle of Rügen) to provide fast emergency service for offshore-operations in the Baltic Sea.