A Romanian Air Force IAR 330 Puma performs Medical evacuation duty
Role
Utility helicopter/gunship/naval helicopter
Type of aircraft
Manufacturer
Industria Aeronautică Română
First flight
22 October 1975
Status
In service
Primary users
Romanian Air Force Romanian Navy United Arab Emirates Air Force Sudan Air Force
Produced
1975–2008
Number built
≥ 163[1]
Developed from
Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma
The IAR 330 is a licence-built version of the Aérospatiale SA 330 Puma helicopter, manufactured by the Romanian aerospace manufacturer Industria Aeronautică Română.
The IAR 330 was produced under a licensing agreement with the French aerospace firm Aérospatiale, signed on 30 July 1974. On 22 October 1975, the first Romanian-built Puma conducted its maiden flight. Deliveries to customers begun shortly thereafter; by 1980, around 25 IAR 330s had been produced for both domestic and overseas customers. Various oversea countries opted to procure the IAR 330, including Pakistan, Ivory Coast, United Arab Emirates, and Sudan. The largest operator of the type would be the Romanian Air Force, who initially used it primarily as a utility transport.
During the 1990s, there was a desire for a rotary anti-tank capability, as well as to integrate Romania's defense equipment with NATO. Accordingly, during the 2000s, IAR collaborated with the Israeli defense company Elbit Systems to produce twenty-four IAR 330 SOCAT helicopters, which was designed for anti-tank and battlefield support operations.[2] A modernized utility transport model equipped NATO-compatible avionics derived from the SOCAT, referred to as the IAR 330M, was also produced around this time. A navalised model, capable of search and rescue, medevac, and maritime surveillance, was also developed. The final IAR 330 was produced in 2008; the programme has effectively been replaced by the Airbus Helicopters H215 Super Puma, the production of which was transferred to Brașov under Eurocopter Romania, a joint venture between Airbus Helicopters and IAR.
^Marnix Sap, Carlo Brummer: Fortele Aeriene Romane in: Lotnictwo Nr. 4/2010, pp. 40–41 (in Polish)
^"IAR-330 Puma SOCAT". roaf.ro. Archived from the original on 7 October 2007.
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