Bahrain Minister of Interior Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa signed a contract for the country’s Police Aviation Command to receive nine Airbus H145 helicopters. The Kingdom’s police operation will fly the H145s for law enforcement and emergency medical services missions. 

The H145 features a five-bladed main rotor that adds 331 pounds (150 kg) to the helicopter’s useful load and a bearingless rotor that makes maintenance easier and improves reliability. Two Safran Arriel 2E engines power the H145. Avionics are Airbus’ Helionix suite with a four-axis autopilot. Capable of carrying up to 10 passengers in a high-density configuration, the H145 can fly up to 140 knots and 351 nm, with endurance of 3 hours and 35 minutes.

More than 1,700 of the H145 family are in service and they have logged 8 million flying hours, according to Airbus Helicopters. In September 2019, a flight over the 22,840-foot Aconcagua in the Andes Mountains included a landing and takeoff at 20,000 feet.