On December 16, 2008, the first production EC225 equipped with a water bombing kit and many other equipment packages giving it full Search and Rescue (SAR) capabilities was delivered to the Korean operator “119 Rescue”.

The EC225 was delivered following the contract signed in December 2006 with the National Emergency Management Agency, which coordinates the purchasing of equipment for South Korea’s public emergency services. The EC225 will be operated by South Korea’s “119 Rescue”. It will be the first multifunction helicopter flown by the Korean operator, whose fleet already includes two AS365 Dauphins. The EC225 can perform an extremely wide range of missions: Troop transport to scenes of catastrophes, firefighting, SAR and emergency medical services (EMS). In addition, the Koreans will now be able to perform night flights for the first time, as the EC225 is equipped with night vision goggles.

Water Bombing Capabilities
During the summer of 2007, a series of tests were conducted in Corsica using an EC725 on loan to the French Civil Defense from the French Air Force. The crew included test pilots from Eurocopter and pilots from the French Civil Defense. Following the tests, many improvements were made to the water bombing kit (see inset), which now includes a retractable pumping system. The water dumping capacity has been increased by 25%, and the human/machine interface (HMI) has also been optimized, as the crew can now display specific firefighting data (such as the weight of the water being carried, for example). The certification for these improvements is due to be issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency in May 2009. Firefighting with a helicopter is serious business, and many different parameters must be taken into account (terrain, air currents, approach paths, etc.). Training is crucial for flight crews who perform these types of missions, and Eurocopter is currently setting up a specialized training module for water bombing helicopters. A two-part training program has been devised: The first part will be conducted by the Civil Defense Training School, and part two will be handled by Eurocopter Training Services (ETS). The first sessions will take place in mid-2009. For the time being, the flight crews of “119 Rescue” are being trained in Korea by ETS instructors. Their training, which will be completed in May 2009 covers many different areas: Familiarization with the EC225 and its SAR modes, night flights, and the use of optional equipment such as the hoist. The Koreans will then be the first trainees for the brand new water bombing module, which will round off their training.