Airbus Helicopters was formed in 1992 as
Eurocopter S.A., through the merger of the helicopter divisions of
Aérospatiale and
DASA. The company's heritage traces back to
Blériot and
Lioré et Olivier in France and to
Messerschmitt and
Focke-Wulf in Germany. Aérospatiale held 33% of the world's helicopter market share prior to the merger and DASA, 8%; Eurocopter's ownership was therefore split 70%–30% between the two parent companies to reflect their respective weight in the new entity. Eurocopter and its predecessor companies have established a wide range of helicopter firsts, including the first production
turboshaft-powered helicopter (the
Aérospatiale Alouette II of 1955); the introduction of the
Fenestron shrouded tail rotor (on the
Gazelle of 1968); the first helicopter certified for full flight in icing conditions (the
AS332 Super Puma, in 1984); the first production helicopter with a
Fly-by-wire control system (the
NHIndustries NH90, first flown in full FBW mode in 2003); the first helicopter to use a
Fly-by-light primary control system (an
EC135 testbed, first flown in 2003); and the first ever landing of a helicopter on
Mount Everest (achieved by an
AS350 B3 in 2005). As a result of the merger of Aérospatiale and DASA in 2000, which founded
Airbus, Eurocopter, now rebranded
Airbus Helicopters, became a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus. The new aerospace corporation in 2000 also incorporated
CASA of Spain, which itself had a history of helicopter-related activities dating back to
Talleres Loring, including local assembly of the
Bo105. Today, Airbus Helicopters has four main plants in Europe (
Marignane and
La Courneuve in France, and
Donauwörth and
Kassel in Germany), plus 32 subsidiaries and participants around the world, including those in
Itajubá, Brazil,
Fort Erie, Canada,
Brisbane, Australia,
Albacete, Spain and
Grand Prairie, USA. Since approximately 2006, Eurocopter has been involved in the planning for the proposed pan-European Future Transport Helicopter project. As of 2014, more than 12,000 Airbus Helicopters were in service with over 3,000 customers in around 150 countries. Eurocopter became Airbus Helicopter at the start of 2014. Eurocopter sold 422 helicopters in 2013 and delivered 497 helicopters that year. In 2014, AH built a concrete cylinder for testing helicopters before first flight. In December 2022, it was announced Airbus Helicopters had acquired the
Kassel-Calden-headquartered gearbox and component supplier, ZF Luftfahrttechnik from
ZF Friedrichshafen for an undisclosed amount. The business was rebranded as Airbus Helicopters Technik. In May 2024, Airbus Helicopters signed a MoU with
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to finance civil helicopter purchases in India.
Historical emblems Historical emblems of the company: File:Eurocopter logo (1992–2000).svg|1992–2000 File:Eurocopter logo (2000–2010).svg|2000–2010 File:Eurocopter company logo.svg|2010–2014 File:Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter Group) logo.png|2014–2017 File:Airbus Logo 2017.svg|alt=Airbus common logo since June 2017|2017–present ==Products==