90 Airbus Helicopters rotorcraft take part in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games

11 August 2016

The helicopters are being used to perform surveillance, counter-terrorism, defense, public security and image-capturing missions and will be supported by Airbus Helicopters’ local customer center Helibras.

A fleet of 90 Airbus Helicopters rotorcraft has been deployed at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games for use in surveillance, airspace defense, anti-terrorism, law enforcement, command/control/communication, air medical rescue and electronic image capture during the month of August in Rio de Janeiro and other states where competitions are taking place.

This fleet is comprised of 83 military helicopters and seven civil Ecureuils.

"Our team is prepared to offer the necessary support to our operators, and we are confident that their work will be a success," said Dominique Andreani, vice president of Business and Services at Helibras in Brazil.

At the national level, the Brazilian Army is flying 28 military helicopters: seven Fennecs, 11 Panthers, six H225Ms and four Cougars. These aircraft are based in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Distrito Federal, Bahia, Minas Gerais and São Paulo.

The Brazilian Air Force is operating eight helicopters for troop transport: four H225Ms, two AS332 Super Pumas and two H135 VIPs. The Brazilian Navy has an additional eight aircraft involved in the operation: four Ecureuils and four H225Ms.

To support these operations, Helibras has built a specialized spare parts inventory and has stationed dedicated support teams in Itajubá and in Afonsos Park, the Air Force base that is housing the Army’s helicopters during the Games.

At the state level, the governments of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Distrito Federal, Bahia and Amazonas, where men’s and women’s soccer games are taking place, have also put their helicopter fleets into operation.

In the host city of the games, the military police of Rio de Janeiro has deployed five Ecureuils and one H145, while the civil police has mobilized an H125. In addition, one H135 and one AS365 operated by the Secretaria Adjunta de Operações Aéreas (Assistant Secretary for Air Operations) in Rio de Janeiro are available to transport public officials.

In São Paulo state, the military police force is flying surveillance missions during all games played in the capital with 15 Ecureuils and one H135.

Minas Gerais state is supporting the games at Mineirão with an H125 and H145 belonging to the fire department and an H125 belonging to the military police. Likewise, five H125 helicopters flown by the civil police, military police, traffic department and fire department have been deployed in Distrito Federal for matches in the Arena Mané Garrincha, along with an H135 operated by the fire department.

The military police of the northeastern state of Bahia has put into operation two Ecureuil and one H145 in the city of Salvador, while the Casa Militar of Bahia has an H135 and an AS355N.

In northwestern Amazonas state, the Secretaria de Segurança Pública of Amazonas (Amazon Secretary of Public Security) is ensuring public safety at matches in the Arena Amazonia with an H125.

Finally, the Ecureuil has been chosen to capture the official aerial images of the Games, as it was for the World Cup in 2014, also held in Brazil.