Airbus Helicopters improved its delivery numbers and increased its mix of military business in 2016. For the year, Airbus Helicopters delivered 418 rotorcraft, a 5 percent increase compared to the 395 it delivered in 2015, against a market backdrop company CEO Guillaume Faury called "the most difficult year for the helicopter industry since 2008." Global bookings for civil helicopters for all manufacturers dropped 13 percent from 2015 levels.

Airbus logged gross orders for 388 helicopters in 2016, compared to the 383 gross orders for 2015. Bookings in 2016 included orders for 188 light-single-engine helicopters, 163 H135/H145 light-twins, 23 Super Puma class, eight H175s and six in the H155/Dauphin family. Overall, order backlog stood at 766 helicopters at year's end. Airbus continues to maintain a 47percent share of the world civil market for helicopters weighing more than 1.3 metric tons.

Faury announced a variety of developments concerning new and existing programs. The new H160 medium twin is currently undergoing cold weather testing in Canada, and a third prototype will join the program early this year. Airbus will begin taking orders for the H160 this year and already has a "significant number" of letters of intent for it.

Airbus plans to fly its X3 derivative, the Clean Sky2 high-speed compound helicopter demonstrator, at the end of 2019 or the beginning of 2020 and plans to reveal more details about it at this year's Paris Air Show.

Faury also said the company will conduct the first unmanned flights of its City Airbus all electric, VTOL, four-seat urban vehicle in 2018 and manned flights beginning in 2019. Development of a full-scale vehicle will start this month in Germany.

The X6 heavy helicopter, seen as an eventual replacement for the H225, remains in the concept phase, with Faury characterizing it as a "long-term investment." Faury said Airbus looks forward to "restoring trust" in the H225 following last year's fatal North Sea crash that killed 13 and prompted a temporary EASA grounding order that was lifted after a problematic planet gear was identified and an increased inspection regime imposed. Faury called the Super Puma family "outstanding" helicopters with a major role to play in the oil and gas market. "We believe that market cannot rely on a single helicopter type," he said,referring to Sikorsky's S-92A. "We are fully aware that we need to ensure a smooth return to service of that product in the North [Sea]."

“The multiple challenges faced in 2016 have increased our resolve to support our customers with an ever-increasing commitment to quality and safety, leveraging the most modern portfolio of products and services,” he said. "Despite this challenging market environment, we delivered on our operational objectives and proceeded with the execution of our transformation plan.”

Faury said highlights of 2016 included success in key military campaigns for the H225M, which was selected by Singapore and Kuwait, the latter being an order for 30 ships, as well as for the H135/H145 family, which was selected in the UK for military flight training. Last year also saw first deliveries of the new AS565 MBe Panther naval helicopter to Mexico and Indonesia and the first flight of the NH90 Sea Lion for the German Navy.

On the civil side, the first H175 medium-twin helicopter in VIP configuration entered service in 2016, while the public services variant began flight-testing ahead of certification in 2017. A Chinese consortium signed an order for 100 H135s to be assembled locally over the next 10 years. Ground-breaking of the H135 facility in China will take place in the middle of this year with deliveries from that facility beginning in 2019.

Certification of the Helionix-equipped version of the H135 was granted by EASA in November 2016, while flight-testing activities of the next-generation H160 continued at a steady pace throughout the year, paving the way for the first firm orders to be signed this year. The H160 aerodynamic configuration was frozen at the middle of last year and manufacturing will soon start on a new final assembly line designed for the aircraft "and this will change the way we manufacture helicopters," Faury said.

More than 100 H145s were delivered in 2016 and Airbus has booked more customers for the new military variant H145M. Faury believes there will be more "sales opportunities for the H145M in the short-term."

The first flight of the unmanned VSR700 naval drone, based on the Guimbal Cabri G2 piston helicopter, will take place later this year.