The Eurocopter AS532 Cougar (now Airbus Helicopters H215M) is a twin-engine, medium-weight, multipurpose helicopter developed by

Eurocopter Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter S.A., trade name, trading as Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturer, helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopte ...

. The AS532 is a development and upgrade of the

Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma The Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma is a four-bladed, twin-engined medium transport/utility helicopter designed and originally produced by the French aerospace manufacturer Sud Aviation. The Puma was developed as a new design during the mid-1960s in r ...

in its militarized form. Its civilian counterpart is the

Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma The Airbus Helicopters H215 (formerly Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma) is a four-bladed, twin-engined, medium-sized, utility helicopter developed and initially produced by French aerospace company Aérospatiale. It has been subsequently manufactur ...

(Later called the Airbus Helicopters H215, note the lack of M suffix). The AS532 has been further developed as the

Eurocopter EC725 The Eurocopter EC725 Caracal, now called Airbus Helicopters H225M, is a long-range tactical transport military helicopter developed from the Eurocopter AS532 Cougar for military use. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up to 28 seated ...

Design and development

The AS332 Super Puma, designed as a growth version to replace the SA 330 Puma, first flew in September 1977. It was fitted with two 1,330 kW Turbomeca Makila 1A1 turboshaft engines, composite rotor blades, improved landing gear and a modified tailfin. In 1990 all military Super Puma designations were changed from "AS 332" to "AS 532 Cougar" to distinguish between the civil and military variants of the helicopter. Canada had considered purchasing the Cougar to replace their

CH-113 Labrador The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is an American medium-lift tandem rotors, tandem-rotor transport helicopter powered by twin turboshaft aircraft engine, engines. It was designed by Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Helico ...

, but opted in the end to purchase the CH-149 Cormorant. In 2012 France began a €288.8m project (€11.1m/unit) to upgrade 23 Army Cougars and 3 for the Air Force to address obsolescence issues and to deliver similar avionics to their EC225 and EC725 helicopters.

Variants

;AS532 UL/AL :The AS 532 UL/AL is the long version of the Cougar family and is powered by two

Turbomeca Makila The Turbomeca Makila is a family of French turboshaft engines for helicopter use, first run in 1976 and flown in 1977.Endres and Gething 2005, p. 487. ;AS532 SC :The AS 532SC is the naval version of the Cougar family and is powered by two

Turbomeca Makila The Turbomeca Makila is a family of French turboshaft engines for helicopter use, first run in 1976 and flown in 1977.anti-surface unit warfare (ASUW), fitted with AM 39

Exocet The Exocet () is a French-built anti-ship missile whose various versions can be launched from Warship, surface vessels, Submarine, submarines, Helicopter, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Etymology The missile's name was given by M. Guil ...

missiles;

Anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations ar ...

(ASW), fitted with a variable-depth sonar and torpedoes; Search and rescue; and Sea patrols. For deck landing, securing at high sea states, maneuver and traverse this variant can be fitted with ASIST. ;AS535 :It was variant offered to cover the

combat search and rescue Combat search and rescue (CSAR) are search and rescue operations that are carried out during war that are within or near combat zones. A CSAR mission may be carried out by a task force of helicopters, ground-attack aircraft, aerial refueling ta ...

(CSAR or ''RESCO'' in French) needs of the French Army. The military preferred to acquire the improved version of the aircraft, the

instead to fulfill this gap. ;HM-3 :

Brazilian Army The Brazilian Army (; EB) is the branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible, externally, for defending the country in eminently terrestrial operations and, internally, for guaranteeing law, order and the constitutional branches, subordina ...

designation for the AS532M1.

Operators

* Kurdistan * Kurdistan Counter Terrorism Group (CTG) ; *

Albanian Air Force The Albanian Air Force ( - Air Force of the Republic of Albania) is the air force of Albania and one of the branches of the Albanian Armed Forces. History Early history In 1914 the government of Albania ordered three ''Lohner'' Daimler a ...

; *

Bulgarian Air Force The Bulgarian Air Force () is one of the three branches of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and protect the sovereignty of Bulgarian airspace, and jointly with ...

; *

Chilean Army The Chilean Army () is the land arm of the Chilean Armed Forces. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, an army aviation brigade and a special operations brigade. In recent years, and after sever ...

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy () is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense (Chile), Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Ori ...

; *

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

Eurocopter Cougar - sling load training with Bulgarian forces -1

; *

German Air Force The German Air Force (, ) is the aerial warfare branch of the , the armed forces of Germany. The German Air Force (as part of the ) was founded in 1956 during the era of the Cold War as the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces of West Ger ...

; *

Royal Netherlands Air Force The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF; , "Royal Air Force") is the military aviation branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It was created in 1953 to succeed its predecessor, the ''Luchtvaartafdeling'' () of the Dutch Army, which was founded ...

; *

Romanian Naval Forces The Romanian Naval Forces () is the principal naval branch of the Romanian Armed Forces and operates in the Black Sea and on the Danube. It traces its history back to 1860. History The Romanian Navy was founded in 1860 as a river flotilla on ...

; *

Royal Saudi Air Force The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF; ) is the military aviation, aviation branch of the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabian Armed Forces. The Royal Saudi Air Force currently has wings, squadrons, and a special forces unit dedicated to comba ...

Royal Saudi Navy The Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF), or Royal Saudi Navy, is the maritime arm of the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces and one of the five service branches of the Ministry of Defense of Saudi Arabia. Its primary role is monitoring and defending Sa ...

; *

Slovenian Air Force Slovenian Air Force and Air Defence is a part of the Slovenian Armed Forces. It is an integral part of the command structure, not an independent branch. Duties Slovenian Air Force and Air Defence aim is securing the sovereignty of the airspa ...

; *

Spanish Army The Spanish Army () is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest Standing army, active armies – dating back to the late 15th century. The Spanish Army has existed ...

; *

Swiss Air Force The Swiss Air Force (; ; ; ) is the air component of the Swiss Armed Forces, established on 31 July 1914, three days after the outbreak of World War I, as a part of the Swiss Army, army and in October 1936 as an independent service. In peaceti ...

; *

Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force () is the Air force, air and space force of the Turkish Armed Forces. It traces its origins to 1 June 1911 when it was founded as the Ottoman Aviation Squadrons, Aviation Squadrons by the Ottoman Empire. It was composed ...

Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for Army, land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the ...

; * Uzbekistan Air Force ; *

Venezuelan Air Force Bolivarian Military Aviation of Venezuela (), is a professional armed body designed to defend Venezuela's sovereignty and airspace. It is a service component of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela. Etymology The organization is al ...

Former operator

; *

Air Force of Zimbabwe The Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) is the air force of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. It was known as the Rhodesian Air Force until 1980. The Air Force of Zimbabwe saw service in the Mozambican Civil War in 1985 and the Second Congo War of 1998– ...

Accidents

* On 4 June 1997, 11 military personnel were killed in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

when a Cougar helicopter was shot down with a

9K32 Strela-2 The 9K32 Strela-2 (; NATO reporting name SA-7 Grail) is a light-weight, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile or MANPADS system. It is designed to target aircraft at low altitudes with passive infrared homing, infrared-homing guidance and dest ...

during an operation against the PKK near the Zap region, near Turkey's border with Iraq. * On 29 April 2003, 4 military personnel were killed when a Cougar helicopter crashed into power lines during a training flight, in

Isparta Isparta is a city in western Turkey. It is the seat of Isparta Province and Isparta District.İl ...

Turkey. *On 25 July 2012, a Cougar helicopter during test flight has crashed in Southeastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in a region called

Verdon Gorge The Verdon Gorge (French language, French: ''Gorges du Verdon'' ) is a river canyon located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of Southeastern France. It is about 25 km (15.5 mi) long and up to 700 metres (0.4 ...

. The aircraft was bordered with test pilots and engineers of the manufacturer. The tragic incident killed 6 company personnel. The aircraft crashed was destined to the

Albanian Armed Forces The Albanian Armed Forces () are the military of Albania and were formed after the declaration of independence in 1912. Today, it consists of the General Staff, the Albanian Land Force, Albanian Air Force and the Albanian Naval Force. The P ...

. * On 1 June 2017, 13 military personnel were killed in

when a Cougar helicopter crashed into power lines shortly after take-off from a base near Turkey's border with Iraq. * On 25 November 2019, 13 French military personnel were killed in northern

Mali Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east b ...

when a

Eurocopter Tiger The Eurocopter Tiger is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter which first entered service in 2003. It is manufactured by Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter), which arose from the merger of Aérospatiale's and DASA's respective helico ...

helicopter collided with a Eurocopter AS532 Cougar. *On 15 April 2020, a Cougar helicopter operated by the

crashed during a training exercise. The crash caused the death of 2 military personnel on board and injured other 5. * On 4 March 2021 a Cougar helicopter crashed during severe weather conditions in eastern Turkey, killing 11 military personnel on board and injuring two others. The victims included Lt. Gen. Osman Erbas, a highly ranked army corps commander. Nine of the victims died at the crash site, while two died of their injuries in hospital.11 killed in army helicopter crash in eastern Turkey
Canada CTV News, March 4, 2021

Specifications (AS532 UB)

Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma Line Drawing

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Endres, Günter G. and Michael J. Gething. ''Jane's Aircraft Recognition Guide''. HarperCollins UK, 2005. .

External links

AS 532 U2/A2 Cougar Helicopter, Search and Rescue Variant Details
{{Spanish helicopters Aerial firefighting helicopters

Cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

Airbus Helicopters aircraft 1970s French military utility aircraft Military helicopters 1970s French helicopters Twin-turbine helicopters Aircraft first flown in 1977