JCG signs up to Airbus HCare Smart service

The Japan Coastguard (JCG) has signed up for Airbus’s HCare Smart management service to support its H225 fleet.

The contract will cover comprehensive maintenance support and supply parts for the operator’s eventual fleet of 10 H225s. The Coast Guard ordered additional H225s in April this year, bringing its total fleet of H225s to ten when deliveries are completed.

When the additional H225s were ordered, Airbus quoted an estimated delivery of all H225s by 2020. However, this has now been pushed back to March 2021. Five of the H225s are already in service.

Olivier Tillier, managing director of Airbus Helicopters Japan said: “This, being the first and most large-scale adoption of the HCare Smart programme in the Japanese parapublic market, makes it exceptionally meaningful for Airbus. JCG has been a long-standing customer for more than two decades, and it is fast becoming the largest Super Puma operator in Japan today.

“We are strongly confident that our highly adaptive HCare Smart programme will deliver high fleet availability, reduce aircraft down-time and reinforce the capabilities of JCG’s fleet. Our Airbus Helicopters team in Japan is fully committed to ensure that JCG’s fleet is always performing at its maximum readiness level, while ensuring the highest level of safety for all missions.”

The Japan Coast Guard currently operates three AS332s and five H225s. The aircraft are used for security enforcement through territorial coastal activities to disaster relief missions across Japan.