Helicopter panther

The SA.365 Dauphin is a medium multi-purpose helicopter designed by Sud-Aviation to replace the Alouette III. Later, it was developed by the National Industrial Aerospace Company, which became a branch of Airbus Helicopters in 1990. The Dauphin had civil and military versions, giving birth to the Airbus Helicopters Panther family and the EC155.

The name of the Dauphin evolved depending on the company and the year of construction, going from SA36X (Sud-Aviation) to AS36x (Aérospatiale) then EC155 (Eurocopter), becoming H155 after the change of name from Airbus Helicopters.

Production of the SA.365 ended on January 21, 2022 with the delivery of a final aircraft to Spanish customs.

The AS565 Panther, shown here, is the military version of the SA365 Dauphin, used for various military missions such as fire support, anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, troop transport, medical evacuation and maritime intelligence. Since January 2014, it has been renamed AS565 MBe after modifications by Airbus Helicopters.