American Eurocopter presented the U.S. Coast Guard with a certificate of commendation for attaining 1.25 million fleet flight hours on the H-65 Dolphin multi-mission helicopter.
The accomplishment was recognized during a presentation at Eurocopter’s exhibit at Heli-Expo 2012, the world’s largest helicopter exhibition. American Eurocopter delivered the first Coast Guard H-65 in 1985 and has serviced the fleet since, to include the fleet-wide engine upgrade program.

“American Eurocopter is proud to support the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard,” said Marc Paganini, President and CEO of American Eurocopter. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Coast Guard and our support of the H-65 fleet — the most recognizable search and rescue aircraft in the world.”

The H-65 helicopter is certified for operation in all-weather and nighttime operations, with the exception of icing conditions. The H-65 is the only Coast Guard aircraft used aboard cutters during deployments. FLIR, a heads-up display and other avionics upgrades are being installed aboard the H-65 for law-enforcement operations. H-65 crews have completed night-vision goggle implementation, greatly enhancing night-time search capabilities.

There are 102 H-65s in the Coast Guard inventory. As part of the ongoing H-65 Conversion and Sustainment Project, all of the original HH-65Bs have been upgraded to the H-65C/D configuration, equipped with Turbomecca Arriel 2C2 engines. The re-designation of HH-65Cs to MH-65C/Ds reflects the installation of armament and a significantly upgraded communications package.