The Royal Air Force (RAF) has taken delivery of two Airbus H145 Jupiter HC Mk2 helicopters in Cyprus, enhancing the capabilities of 84 Squadron.
This development is part of a £148m ($194m) Ministry of Defence (MoD) initiative aimed at increasing operational support for RAF personnel on the island.
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The aircraft will conduct emergency response, aerial firefighting, troop transport, medical evacuation and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance tasks, continuing roles previously performed by retired Puma HC2 and Griffin helicopters.
The deployment in Cyprus forms a portion of a six-aircraft order from Airbus, with the contract moving from agreement to operational readiness in under two years.
The delivery to the 84 Squadron in Cyprus comes after the British Army received two Airbus H145 Jupiter HC Mk2 helicopters in Brunei in April this year.
These are part of the six Airbus H145 helicopters ordered by the MoD in 2024, which supports 250 jobs at Airbus in Oxford.
The contract with Airbus also supports approximately 30 further skilled UK jobs. Of these, 10 staff are assigned to Cyprus, eight to Brunei and 12 remain in Oxford.
Further aircraft deliveries to both Cyprus and Brunei are scheduled for completion by the end of July.
In December of the previous year, Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) awarded a £33.6m contract to Airbus Helicopters in the UK to provide initial support and servicing for the six H145 helicopters included in this programme.
