Airbus Taps Pratt for Navy Helo Trainer Entry

Airbus Helicopters (Booth C305) has selected the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206B3 to power the H135 IFR-certified light twin it is proposing for the U.S. Navy’s TH-XX training helicopter competition, the company announced Wednesday. The Navy is expected to order as many as 130 replacement aircraft for its aging fleet of Bell TH57s. Airbus said it would manufacture the H135 for the Navy at its Columbus, Mississippi plant, the same facility that assembles the UH-72A Lakota training aircraft for the U.S. Army, if it is selected for the Navy contract. The Columbus plant also manufactures the EC-145e twin and the H125 single for the U.S. market.