Law enforcement agencies looking for a versatile helicopter to upgrade their airborne mission capabilities need look no further than the Eurocopter EC135, the highly capable light twin-engine helicopter marketed by American Eurocopter.

Nearly 1,100 EC135s are in use globally, with missions heavily focused on airborne law enforcement and emergency medical transport services. The latest variant of this mission-tested helicopter is the EC135 T3/P3, which offers significant performance improvements especially for high altitude and hot weather conditions.

“The EC135 is a very efficient platform with multimission capabilities,” said Ed Van Winkle, American Eurocopter’s Sales Manager for Airborne Law Enforcement. “It can be equipped with a thermal imager, searchlight and hoist, and even medevac equipment. Flights in IFR conditions can easily be performed with the EC135’s autopilot system, which significantly decreases workload in the cockpit.”

U.S. law enforcement agencies now operating the EC135 include the Massachusetts State Police Air Wing and the Broward County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit.

“The EC 135 is very maneuverable and the Fenestron® tail rotor provides a more neighborly sound signature,” said Lt. Rob Smith, Officer in Charge of the Massachusetts State Police Air Wing. “The twin-engine aircraft with the autopilot gives the crew an added measure of safety.” The Massachusetts State Police Air Wing recently took delivery of their third EC135 for law enforcement missions across Massachusetts.

American Eurocopter will have a Broward County EC135 displayed at its booth (#181) during the Airborne Law Enforcement Association Conference in Orlando July 17-20.

The EC135 T3/P3 variant offers a choice of more powerful turbine engines, either the Turbomeca Arrius 2B2-plus (T3 version) or the Pratt & Whitney Canada PWC 206B3 (P3 version). Side air intakes increase cold air flow and engine efficiency, and the main rotor blades have been extended nearly 4 inches.

Among the resulting improvements are significantly better hot/high performance (530 pounds more payload at 4,900-feet altitude, ISA+20 conditions), improved maximum takeoff weight (a 66 pound increase to 6,570 pounds compared with the most recent EC135 P2e/T2e versions), and an improved flight envelope.

Both variants feature optimized FADEC (Full Authority Digital Engine Control) software and enhanced air intakes compatible with inlet barrier filters, which protect the engines from sand, dust and foreign object damage (FOD).

In the cockpit, improvements for the EC135 T3/P3 are Garmin’s GTN 750 fully-integrated navigation, communications, and GPS avionics solution with a large touch-screen display; the Appareo Vision 1000 flight data monitoring and cockpit imaging device; and an iPad holder with power supply. Further enhancing operational safety is a new external life raft system.

American Eurocopter leads the U.S. airborne law enforcement market, maintaining a 56 percent market share over the last decade with a product line that has become the industry standard.

More than 280 Eurocopter aircraft are operated by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Operators cite reliability, versatility and cost effectiveness as key factors in choosing Eurocopter helicopters.

About American Eurocopter

American Eurocopter is the U.S. affiliate of Eurocopter, the largest helicopter manufacturer in the world, and a subsidiary of EADS North America Holdings, the North American operations of EADS, a world leader in aerospace, defense and related services. American Eurocopter is a helicopter manufacturer and markets, sells and supports the broadest range of civil and para-public helicopters offered by any manufacturer. The product line represents the most cost-effective, technologically-advanced helicopters, ranging from light single to heavy twin aircraft, serving all markets and missions. American Eurocopter’s headquarters and main facility are in Grand Prairie, with a large manufacturing and production facility in Columbus, Miss.