The H135 P3H Nival helicopters of the Spanish Navy seen very closely

@DefAviation ES 7·02·2024 · 22:17 0

In February 2023, the Spanish Navy announced the creation of its 12th Squadron, equipped with Airbus Helicopters H135 P3H Nival.

The beginnings of the Airbus H135 P3H Nival helicopters of the Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy announces its 12th Squadron and the goodbye of the AB-212 and the Cayuse

This new unit plans to receive seven helicopters of that type. The first, the HE.26-35A (with serial number 10301 and callsign Nival 1202), was delivered on October 26 at the Rota Naval Base, the operations center of the Aircraft Flotilla of the Spanish Navy. The second, the HE.26-33A (10299, Nival 1201), it was delivered on November 30 along with three other H135s (one for the Air Force, one for the National Police and one for the Civil Guard). Deliveries are scheduled to be completed in October 2025.

These last few days the Amphibious Assault Ship "Galicia" L-51 has been in Vigo and has shown these first two H135 P3H Nival of the Spanish Navy. It is the first time I had the opportunity to see them up close and I have not missed it. On the left we see the HE.26-35A (with the rotor fastenings in red) and on the right the HE.26-33A (with the yellow fastenings).

According to what an officer told us, the Navy is very happy with these helicopters, as they represent a great technological leap compared to their predecessors, the Hughes 500 Cayuse, especially for their digitalized cockpit with Airbus Helionix avionics. Additionally, the H135 has a smaller logistical footprint and easier maintenance than other models such as the NH90, allowing them to operate from small vessels more easily.

It should be noted that both helicopters have common accessories, such as the bulb in the nose for the weather and surface radar. However, there are some details in which both differ, since the Spanish Navy is using them for different missions, as an officer of the ship told us.

A unique detail of the HE.26-33A is that it is equipped with an electro-optical system (FLIR), located in front of the starboard skid. The HE.26-35A is not equipped with this scope.

Another detail common to both helicopters is that they have an inflatable float system. In total, each helicopter carries four floats: one on the front of each skid and one on the back. In this photo we see the starboard front float of the HE.26-35A, located on the skid (in white with a black top). Next to the fuselage we see the 26.6 liter gas cylinder that is used to inflate the floats of the two skids.

In this photo we can see the two starboard floats of the HE.26-35A. We can also see the large rear doors that the helicopter has, which make it a good aircraft for medical evacuation, since stretchers can be inserted through there.

On the other hand, these two helicopters have the same main rotor folding system. Instead of the pests all folding back, as is the case on other helicopters, on the H135 they fold in groups of two. Here we see the HE.26-35A with the folding system that comes from the factory and some red blade attachments.

However, in the HE.26-33A the Spanish Navy has introduced some changes for greater folding of the blades, which allows the rotor to take up less space once folded. The difference is 15 cm on each side, according to what an officer told us.

Likewise, both helicopters are equipped with two cable cutters, one at the bottom and one at the top. Here we see the upper cable cutter of the HE.26-35A. These accessories are very common among current helicopters. They allow them to cut cables in case they collide with a power line, a type of incident that has been a relatively frequent cause of fatal accidents in this type of aircraft for years.

Here we see the lower cable cutter of the HE.26-35A, located below the radar bulb.

The emblem of the Aircraft Flotilla of the Spanish Navy. Both helicopters have it on both sides of the fuselage, between the sliding doors and the rear doors.

A nice detail about these helicopters is that they have a Fenestron instead of the traditional tail rotor. The Fenestron is an encapsulated tail rotor first introduced by the French company Aerospatiale with its famous Gazelle helicopter. It has the advantage that it offers more safety to flight deck personnel, is less susceptible to damage and is less noisy than traditional rotors.

As with other aircraft of the Spanish Navy, these helicopters have a low visibility decoration in shades of gray. At a certain distance it is almost impossible to distinguish the helicopter's numerals. The Spanish cockade is painted in a small size on the tail. Here we see the port cockade of the HE.26-33A.

The H135 P3H Nival has several communications antennas on the tail. I have not found any information about this, although I assume that the large antenna with the red casing is a satellite link. + UPDATED 3.7.2024 7:30 p.m.: @MisterCromer tells me that it is a radio beacon: "It is activated in the event of impact on water and marks the position of the accident."

Under the port sliding door there are two red valves. The valve on the left is a pressure relief valve, which must be activated in case of pressure refueling. On the right we see the valve to connect the fuel hose when refueling. To the right of the valves we see a black symbol with a vertical stripe and three horizontal stripes. Just below there is a hole to connect a cable for the discharge of static electricity.

A detail of the main rotor of the HE.26-35A.

The end of one of the main rotor blades of the HE.26-35A.

I have uploaded 33 photos of these helicopters to my Flickr account. You can see them here: