The Peruvian Ministry of the Interior have ordered four Eurocopter EC145s from local distributor Eurocopter Cono Sur (located in Chile).  Contract value is 93,718,765 Nuevo Sol (approx $36.8M), and the contract requires all four to be delivered by 20th December 2013.  The helicopters will be used to provide a range of law enforcement roles in the cities of Lima and Callao.

Local reports indicate that the EC145 was chosen over the Bell 429, primarily on price and delivery availability. Although the calculations have not been detailed, Eurocopter’s proposal scored 82.48 points and Bell significantly lower at 64.05 points.  No other models were considered.

The four new aircraft will replace two Bo105s and two BK117s, which currently make up the majority of the active rotary-wing Police fleet – the others being three Mi-17s.  The Peruvian National Police also operate nine fixed wing aircraft.

Jeremy Parkin – HeliHub.com

File photo