French firms tapped for Mongolia's first helicopter rescue centre

Mongolia's first helicopter search and rescue centre will be built by French companies close to the international airport in Ulaanbaatar.

Money for the project came through a concessional loan granted by the French Treasury Department.

Mongolia will receive a fleet of four helicopters (three Airbus EC145s and one Guimbal Cabri), plus a maintenance centre and a training facility.

An Airbus EC145 helicopter. (Image: Thales)

French company Héli-Union is managing the overall project and has signed a contract with Thales (also based in France) to provide training for the EC145 pilots. The two companies reportedly have a long-standing relationship.

French civil security pilots have trained on the same type of Thales systems since 2006.

“Héli-Union and Thales are combining their expertise for this ground-breaking project in support of civil defence in Mongolia," Peter Hitchcock, VP Training & Simulation for Thales, said in a statement.

The project also strengthens Thales’s local presence in North Asia, where the company has won several significant contracts, including the provision of air traffic management solutions for the Civil Aviation Authority of Mongolia.

Thales' subsidiary company Gemalto, which it acquired in 2019, was also involved in the rollout of Mongolia's national eID cards alongside Bodi International under contract to the Ministry of Justice and Internal Affairs.

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