Lease of Helicopters for the Training and Continuing Education of the Army and Air Force in Germany

In order to ensure the initial and continued training of helicopter pilots of the German Army and Air Force, the Bundeswehr has decided to lease helicopters on an hourly basis. The corresponding tender was awarded to ADAC Heliservice GmbH.

For the Army’s military organizational domain, H145 (MBB-BK117) helicopters are leased. Training operations are conducted at the Niederstetten base, where at least two helicopters are made available daily for Bundeswehr flight operations.

For the Air Force’s military organizational domain, H135 helicopters are leased, together with the provision of equivalent simulator training hours. The training base is Holzdorf, where at least four helicopters are made available simultaneously for flight operations. Simulator training is conducted at Oberpfaffenhofen.

Since training is conducted in classes and across multiple locations, several helicopters are required simultaneously. In addition, formation flights are part of the training concept.

The contractor’s scope of services under “provision for flight operations at the respective base” includes, among others:

Refueling of helicopters.

Maintenance and servicing to ensure airworthiness.

Daily pre-flight and post-flight inspections.

For this purpose, the Bundeswehr provides the contractor with appropriate hangar infrastructure at the Niederstetten and Holzdorf bases.

The planned contract duration are as follows:

Army: 2025, to December 31, 2026.

Air Force: 2025 to December 31, 2027.

Initial implementations under the contract have already taken place:

On 23 December 2025, the first aircraft, an H145, was transferred to Transport Helicopter Regiment 30 in Niederstetten. The second aircraft arrived at the base on February 2, 2026.

The four helicopters allocated to the Holzdorf base have been fully available for flight operations since February 3, 2026.