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France begins testing new H160M Guépard to operate one military helicopter across all armed forces

On July 24, 2025, the first prototype of the Airbus H160M Guépard successfully completed its maiden flight at Marignane, near Aix-en-Provence, marking a formal milestone in the Joint Light Helicopter program (Hélicoptère Interarmées Léger – HIL) launched by France’s Direction générale de l’armement (DGA). The aircraft, a militarized version of the civil H160 platform, was flown by test pilot Samuel Chartier alongside flight test engineers Nicolas Certain, Laurent Maruejols, and Alban Corpron. The flight was conducted in front of approximately 350 invited guests, including representatives from Airbus, the French Armed Forces, and DGA personnel. The H160M, officially named Guépard by the French Armed Forces, has been developed to serve as a unified platform to equip the French Army, Navy, and Air and Space Force, replacing five legacy helicopters: the SA341/342 Gazelle, AS555 Fennec, SA365 Dauphin, AS565 Panther, and the Alouette III. Read full defense news at this link...

The H160M Guépard is the first Airbus helicopter to be designed from the outset for integrated drone cooperation, and it is a rare example of a single multirole helicopter platform intended for use across all three branches of a nation's armed forces. (Picture source: Bruno Even)



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