Slovakia to Buy Three Heavy Helicopters From Airbus for €123 Million

Slovakia's Ministry of Interior is set to close a contract with Airbus Helicopters for three heavy multipurpose helicopters after a procurement process in which the manufacturer submitted the lower of two bids, at 123,280,556 euros without VAT, the ministry said on 6 October 2026.¹²⁶

The procurement

The public procurement for the helicopters was announced on 16 February, and two companies submitted bids, according to the ministry. Airbus Helicopters emerged as the successful bidder, with an offer described by the ministry's spokesperson Matej Neumann as more than 9.7 million euros below the estimated contract value.¹²³⁴

The deadline for filing objections against the evaluation of the bids has passed without any objections being submitted, Neumann said. No objections were filed before the window for challenging the bid evaluation closed. He said the ministry anticipates finalizing the framework agreement's signature sometime in the weeks ahead.²³

What the deal covers

Beyond delivery of the aircraft, the framework agreement includes crew training, service support, spare parts and ground equipment, Neumann said. "Rámcová dohoda zahŕňa okrem dodania vrtuľníkov aj výcvik posádok, servisnú podporu, náhradné diely a pozemné vybavenie," he said.¹²⁵³

The ministry said the helicopters are intended for extinguishing large forest fires, assisting during floods, conducting search and rescue operations and evacuating people. "Vrtuľníky majú slúžiť pri rozsiahlych lesných požiaroch, povodniach, pátracích a záchranných operáciách či evakuácii osôb," the ministry said.¹²⁵⁴

Which specific helicopter models will be supplied has not been disclosed. The ministry said that detail would only become known at the signing of the agreement: "Nateraz sa nevie o aké konkrétne modely pôjde, dozvieme sa to vraj až pri podpise."⁴

Financing

The Ministry of Interior has 81.7 million euros available through the European Union's rescEU program to cover two of the three helicopters, according to the ministry. A condition attached to that grant funding is that the procurement must involve exclusively new aircraft, the ministry said.¹²⁴⁵

According to one report, Slovakia is planning a budget deficit for 2027, an election year, though this detail has not been corroborated by other sources in the dossier.⁴