Lithuania renews Dauphin SAR fleet HCare Infinite contract.

The Lithuanian Air Force (LAF) has renewed its HCare Infinite material management contract for its fleet of three Dauphin AS365 N3+ search and rescue (SAR) helicopters following achievement of 97% average fleet availability over a three-year period.

Lithuanian Air Force AS365 N3+ Dauphin SAR helicopter
(Credit: Ieva Budzeikaite/LAF)

These helicopters entered service performing SAR missions in 2015 with a three-year full warranty and Airbus’ commitment to maintaining at least an 80% fleet availability rate.

“Airbus has far exceeded the availability rate agreed upon in the HCare Infinite support and service contract, achieving near-perfect 97% fleet availability,” said Lieutenant Colonel Antanas Matutis, Šiauliai Air Base Commander. “As a direct result, our team was able to ensure continuous around-the-clock service to those in need of rescue in Lithuania, which we hope to continue through this contract renewal.”

“Support plans like HCare Infinite with performance commitments taken by Airbus contribute towards our goal of building trusted, long-term partnerships with our customers,” said Matthieu Louvot, Executive Vice President of Support & Services at Airbus Helicopters. “In this case, Lithuania can focus its energy on effectively performing life-saving missions while Airbus takes care of all the rest.”

Lithuania was one of the first customers to choose HCare Infinite, Airbus’ most comprehensive level of HCare material management services. The terms require Airbus Helicopters to guarantee the operational availability of LAF’s Dauphin fleet, including technical support and supply of spare parts, tools and consumables.

Through the contract, LAF has direct access to Airbus Helicopters’ parts inventory in Šiauliai, Lithuania, as well as the Airbus parts-by-the-hour pool – a dedicated high-availability pool located in Les Florides, Marignane, France. In addition, a dedicated technical representative is embedded on LAF premises working closely with the Airbus Customer Support Manager in Marignane. Aircraft performance is measured on a daily basis.

Airbus Helicopters’ range of HCare material management services starts out with Easy (onrequest catalogue services) and Smart (four by-the-hour options), and progressively builds up to Infinite (full availability commitments). 

LAF’s renewed contract is for a second term of three years. Today, seven customers with an aggregated 100+ machines have opted for HCare Infinite. Their helicopters include H135s, H145s, Dauphins and Super Pumas, performing a wide variety of missions: SAR, law enforcement, training and military. They operate in the Middle East, Europe, South America, Page 2 of 2 and Asia Pacific, including the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force, which launched its agreement in 2016.