Airbus H-160 tours the Island Continent

Article: Jaryd Stock

Images: Seth Jaworski

November 11, 2025

From late October through to November the Airbus H-160 will be conducting a tour of Australia, with the Helicopter landing in Melbourne to kickstart the month-long demonstration tour across Island Continent, wearing a commemorative aboriginal tail art scheme to commemorate the occasion.

The next-generation helicopter visited key cities and coastal communities to showcase how it supports a wide range of missions, from saving lives in the Search and Rescue (SAR) role to homeland security operating with state and national enforcement offices, natural disaster management, and transporting offshore crew, while setting new standards in safety, performance and sustainability.

“The H160 represents the future of flight, combining advanced technology, mission versatility and reduced environmental impact in one sleek platform,” said Olivier Michalon, Executive Vice President, Global Business, Airbus Helicopters. “The H160 is the most cost efficient in its class. We’re thrilled to bring the helicopter to Australia and demonstrate how it can elevate operations across this region.”

 

The H-160 is touted by Airbus to be one of the world’s most technologically advanced helicopters, designed and built to deliver the highest levels of operational safety while providing unmatched comfort for rotorcraft in its class.

Equipped with the Helionix avionics suite, the H160 offers intuitive flight controls, enhanced situational awareness and reduced pilot workload.

The H-160 offers crews more comfort operating the helicopter compared to other aircraft in its class, thought has been given to crews especially pilot/ co-pilot stations which will operate the Helo, with greater visibility for crews which helps in situational awareness and ability for crews to have greater vision especially in the SAR role.

The interior cabin space is optimised with a floor space that is claimed to be more than Airbus’s competitors, with 5.6 meters of floor space and 7.3 cubic meters of space for the cabin, meaning you can get 360 degrees access to a patient on a stretcher inside the helicopter, which is key in a critical response and the patient is in need of critical care from disaster scene to hospital, with the cabin being able to be fitted with whatever medical need arises in a SAR or Humanitarian Disaster Role situation.

Beyond cabin ergonomics, the H-160’s design reduces environmental and community impact while boosting mission performance. Its innovative Blue Edge main rotor blades and canted Fenestron tail rotor cut perceived sound by up to 50% compared to conventional designs and especially focuses on reduced downwash which is critical for operating in the metropolitan area of a city like Sydney, or Paris.

Optimised with Safran Arrano engines, the H-160 delivers 18% reduction in fuel burn. It is also certified to fly with a 50% blend of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). With a reduced maintenance footprint and streamlined support architecture, the aircraft delivers exceptional availability and cost-efficiency for operators across sectors.

Something that Airbus has been keen to mention is the Helo’s ability to rescue people in adverse maritime conditions, with a situation only a few weeks ago reported on by the media in Europe, where in the English Channel a sailor was rescued in challenging environment conditions with winds recorded as high as 145 kilometres per hour whilst the rescue operation was underway.

Designed to meet the demands of diverse and high-stakes missions, the H-160 excels in environments where reliability and adaptability are paramount Its expansive cabin, unobstructed visibility, and swift reconfiguration capabilities position it as a standout choice for multi-role operations.

The H-160 has entered into service in Brazil, Canada, China, France, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, U.K., U.S. and many other European countries.

Airbus Helicopters maintains a robust footprint in Australia, supporting over 360 helicopters in operation across the country. Most recently, the company expanded its locally embedded support network with the opening of a new parts distribution centre near Perth Airport, enabling faster, more responsive service to operators across the region.