From 8 to 25 October 2007, a test campaign carried out with a KC-130J tanker belonging to the Italian Air Force qualified the EC725 for air-to-air refuelling.

“During this campaign, we wanted to validate the performance of the helicopter during air-to-air refuelling with significant transfers of fuel, in order to calculate the maximum fuel transfer weight of the aircraft. We also wanted to measure the mechanical stresses on the refuelling probe in flight, contingent on the aircraft’s centre of gravity, and to define the air-to-air refuelling procedures,” explains Daniel Sémioli.
The campaign preparations, which included defining the test programme and installing the measuring instrumentation in the helicopter cabin, took approximately three months’ work. The EC725 then made the journey by ferry flight to the Pratica di Mare air force base in the province of Rome. The Eurocopter team consisted of two test pilots (Jacques Larra and Hervé Jammayrac) and three test flight engineers (Dominique Fournier, Daniel Sémioli and Christophe Skorlic). The flight test centre in Istres (France) also sent a crew consisting of Serge Grunwald (test flight engineer), Marc Prunel (pilot) and Jean-Christophe Deschamp (test flight technician). Several flights were made with mixed crews from the flight test centre and Eurocopter, and observers from the French air force were also present. The French air force will be the first operator to make use of the aircraft’s air-to-air refuelling capability. During 17 hours and 40 minutes of flight, the various crews made 47 “dry” contacts and 12 contacts with fuel transfers. These tests were staged at heights of 1,000 to 10,000 ft, at speeds of 105 to 120 knots, and with fuel transfers ranging from 300 kg to two metric tons (2,500 litres).
“Thanks to its five-bladed rotor, the excellence of its autopilot and its reserve power, the EC725 is very easy to fly during the refuelling phases,” the Eurocopter crew emphasises. “We were able to follow the tanker at the maximum weight of 11.2 metric tons and at an altitude of 10,000 ft. This was an amazing result!” The EC725 is now qualified for air-to-air refuelling operations across a flight envelope between 500 ft and 12,000 ft, and the French air force should begin training its crews this year.
Once again, the EC725 has shown off its versatility by adding another string to its bow: air-to-air refuelling. The civil version of this aircraft, the EC225, transports heads of state in a VVIP layout, carries passengers to oil platforms, which are sometimes located in hostile environments, and performs Search & Rescue (SAR) missions.