Photo: Airbus
In Greek mythology, the name Ares is perhaps even more potent than that of Zeus. The ancients used it to describe the god of war – not just any war, but savage, bloody, hatred-filled war. It's also a common name for our favorite planet in the solar system, Mars. And from now on, we'll be using it to describe a new kind of military helicopter made in the U.S. by Airbus.
If you happened to ever see a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter flying overhead, chances are it was an Airbus H125. Introduced in the mid-1970s as the Eurocopter AS350 Ecureuil (which is the French word for squirrel), it's a single-engine machine used mainly as a civilian transport. But the family does have a number of variations designed for more specialized service, and this lineage just got richer.
With over 100 such helicopters in its arsenal, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the biggest global customer for the aircraft, but that may change soon, as two new military-bound types of H125s were announced this week as ready to take to the sky.
The first is the AH-125 Ares, and it's been put together in the U.S. as an armed platform. It will be capable of carrying stuff like .50 call machine guns and also guided and unguided weapons, making it combat-ready.
The second one is a multi-role helicopter called MH-125 Ares. It is to be used for anything from light attack and air assault to search and rescue and disaster response. According to Airbus, changing the role of the helicopter (meaning fitting it with the proper gear) is possible in just 30 minutes.
The conversion of both H125s into Ares variants is handled by a company called MAG Aerospace, a Virginia-based defense contractor. It is tasked with the fitting of weapons, engineering of required changes, manufacturing, and of course, certification of the new birds.
We don't have the exact specs of the Ares variants, but in its stock military configuration, the H125M, the helicopter is powered by a single Safran Arriel 2D engine that develops 847 shaft horsepower at take-off. It's the same kind of engine that powered such a helicopter during its altitude record-setting flight on Mount Everest in 2005 (8,850 meters/29,000 feet).
When not setting records, the thing can fly at speeds of 287 kph (178 mph) and has a maximum range with no fuel reserve of 600 km (373 miles). The helicopter is capable of carrying the pilot and five passengers (or four fully geared soldiers).
Airbus does not say when the new Ares variants will enter service or what branch of the military (or some other law enforcement agency) will get it first. The price of the modified variants is also unknown.
With over 100 such helicopters in its arsenal, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the biggest global customer for the aircraft, but that may change soon, as two new military-bound types of H125s were announced this week as ready to take to the sky.
The first is the AH-125 Ares, and it's been put together in the U.S. as an armed platform. It will be capable of carrying stuff like .50 call machine guns and also guided and unguided weapons, making it combat-ready.
The second one is a multi-role helicopter called MH-125 Ares. It is to be used for anything from light attack and air assault to search and rescue and disaster response. According to Airbus, changing the role of the helicopter (meaning fitting it with the proper gear) is possible in just 30 minutes.
The conversion of both H125s into Ares variants is handled by a company called MAG Aerospace, a Virginia-based defense contractor. It is tasked with the fitting of weapons, engineering of required changes, manufacturing, and of course, certification of the new birds.
We don't have the exact specs of the Ares variants, but in its stock military configuration, the H125M, the helicopter is powered by a single Safran Arriel 2D engine that develops 847 shaft horsepower at take-off. It's the same kind of engine that powered such a helicopter during its altitude record-setting flight on Mount Everest in 2005 (8,850 meters/29,000 feet).
When not setting records, the thing can fly at speeds of 287 kph (178 mph) and has a maximum range with no fuel reserve of 600 km (373 miles). The helicopter is capable of carrying the pilot and five passengers (or four fully geared soldiers).
Airbus does not say when the new Ares variants will enter service or what branch of the military (or some other law enforcement agency) will get it first. The price of the modified variants is also unknown.
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