The Council of Ministers in Spain has approved a significant purchase with Airbus, including 40 helicopters and three A330 tanker aircraft. The helicopters consist of 18 H135s for each of the Spanish Interior and Defence Ministries, and 4 H160s for the Interior Ministry.

The Interior Ministry H135 acquisition will replace the Bo105 and BK117 fleets, some of which date back to delivery in 1973. There are currently eight 105s and nine 117s in operation with the Spanish Policia, Guardia Civil and the Spanish Customs (Aduanera). The Interior Ministry budget for these helicopters is spread across the years 2021-25, and totals 222 million Euro for the aircraft and 39 million for “implementation”, without specifying exactly what that covers.

The 18 for the Defence Ministry will replace the Air Force and Navy training and light transport fleets, specifically the 8 Sikorsky S76Cs, 15 Airbus H120s and 6 MD500Cs currently in operation. The budget allocation for these helicopters is set as 2023-25, so delivery is a little further down the line than the law enforcement ones above.

The agreement between the Spanish Government and Airbus also provides options for a further 23 H135 helicopters.