Airbus Sole Bidder to Supply Five H145 Helicopters to Poland's Medical Air Rescue Service for About PLN 450.5 Million
Why It MattersA single-bidder award that lands exactly on the published budget shows how a locked-in incumbent fleet and operator familiarity can leave national HEMS procurements without price competition.
What happened
The Polish Ministry of Health is pursuing a project to buy five helicopters, with an option for a sixth aircraft, to strengthen the country's helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS). Airbus Helicopters was the only bidder in the tender, offering its H145 for some PLN 450.5 million ($119 million), which matched the ministry's disclosed budget.
The bid was submitted by the group's German subsidiary, Airbus Helicopters Deutschland GmbH, and the aircraft is built at its Donauwörth facility in Bavaria. A contract is expected to be signed shortly, with delivery due by Dec. 15, 2028.
The new helicopters are to be operated by the Polish Medical Air Rescue (Lotnicze Pogotowie Ratunkowe, LPR). LPR currently flies 27 Airbus H135 helicopters in EC135 P2+ and H135 P3 variants, plus three fixed-wing aircraft: two Bombardier Learjet 75 Liberty and one Piaggio P-180 Avanti.
LPR operates some 22 HEMS bases, with at least one in each of Poland's 16 regions; Mazovia has the most, with three. In 2024 LPR completed an upgrade project worth more than PLN 60 million, co-funded by the European Union.
Airbus has previously sold helicopters to EMS operators in countries including Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Bulgaria and Romania. According to Airbus Helicopters, the four-ton-class twin-engine H145 has more than 2,150 units delivered worldwide and over 8.5 million flight hours, and is fitted with the Helionix avionics suite.
Industry impact & what to watch
Public HEMS tenders tend to be shaped by what the operator already flies. LPR's rotary fleet is built entirely around the H135 family, so an H145 from the same manufacturer fits existing training, maintenance and base arrangements. That kind of continuity helps explain why a competitive process can still end with a single compliant offer.
A lone bid priced at the ministry's published budget leaves the price unchallenged, and a tender with one bidder tells buyers little about what the market would have charged. For other European health ministries buying EMS helicopters, the Polish outcome is a reminder that a disclosed ceiling can become the clearing price when few suppliers can meet the specification.
The next milestone is the contract signature the ministry expects shortly. Delivery by Dec. 15, 2028 is the date against which the schedule will be judged, and the sixth-aircraft option remains to be exercised.
