The Super Puma/Cougar combat-support family is a French twin-engine medium- and heavy-lift helicopter line built by Aerospatiale, Eurocopter, and Airbus Helicopters for tactical lift, casualty evacuation, search-and-rescue, special-operations, and utility missions. This family record covers AS332, AS532/H215M, H225, and H225M/EC725 Caracal branches, with conflict evidence ranging from Turkish, Spanish, Nigerian, French, and Ukrainian operation or transfer contexts.
A Turkish retrospective on Cougar accidents says Turkish forces had Cougar helicopters in inventory from 1996 and identifies a 4 June 1997 northern-Iraq incident in which PKK forces targeted Turkish forces with a guided missile, killing 11 soldiers in the first listed Cougar incident.
Spanish Air Force AS332 Super Puma and AS532 Cougar helicopters deployed to the Herat forward support base under ISAF, where the 803 Squadron detachment performed limited CSAR, MEDEVAC, and SASEVAC missions from 2005 to 2013.
Role detailsNigerian Air Force Super Puma helicopters were deployed with Operation LAFIYA DOLE and later described as proven in Operation Hadin Kai, supporting troop transport, casualty evacuation, search and rescue, and logistics in the northeast campaign against Boko Haram and ISWAP.
A French Army Cougar NG flew under Force Barkhane from Menaka on 25 November 2019 as part of an air-combat detachment responding to French troops in contact west of Menaka, carrying an air mission commander and commandos for possible crew extraction.
SIPRI lists five second-hand H-725 Caracal helicopters transferred from France to Ukraine with 2022 delivery, while Airbus and Ukrainian Interior Ministry sources document H225/H-225 aircraft in Ministry of Interior, National Guard, and State Emergency Service service; available sources support transfer and Ukrainian-service presence, not confirmed combat employment.
Role detailsThis record groups the AS332 Super Puma names used in Nigerian and Spanish service with the AS532/H215M and H225/H225M military branches documented by Spanish, French, Ukrainian, and Airbus sources. The page treats these as covered designations for one family record, not as separate linked catalog variants.
Nigerian and Spanish sources use AS332 Super Puma designations for military utility, SAR, and transport aircraft in this family.
Spanish, French, and Airbus sources document the AS532 Cougar and current H215M naming for the military Super Puma/Cougar branch.
Airbus sources use H225M, EC725, Super Cougar, and Caracal designations for the larger military branch associated with tactical transport, CSAR, special operations, and MEDEVAC.
Sources: AS332 Super Puma in Nigerian Air Force; Spanish Air Force AS332 Super Puma and AS532 Cougar; Nigerian Air Force Aerospatiale AS-332M1 Super Puma Iwelumo-1; Cougar AS 532 - French Army; H215M heavy-lift multi-role military helicopter; H225M heavy multi-role military helicopter; Airbus delivers two new H225M helicopters to France
The H225M/EC725 Caracal branch is the newer 11-ton military member of the Super Puma/Cougar line. Airbus presents it as a multi-role helicopter for special operations, combat search and rescue, tactical transport, and medical evacuation, while Airbus identifies Caracal as the French H225M nickname. This record keeps H225M/EC725 in the same family page because Airbus links the H215/H225 and H215M/H225M branches within the Super Puma/Cougar lineage.
Airbus lists special operations, combat SAR, tactical transport, casualty evacuation, optional HForce armament, warning receivers, and countermeasure equipment for the H225M.
H225M data adds an 11,000 kg-class maximum takeoff weight, 4,750 kg sling-load rating, and 920 km standard-fuel range to the family context shown elsewhere on this page.
SIPRI, Airbus, and Ukrainian Interior Ministry sources document H-725/H225/H-225 transfers and operation in Ukrainian Interior Ministry, State Emergency Service, and National Guard service; they support transfer and service-presence context rather than a combat-employment claim.
Sources: H225M heavy multi-role military helicopter; H225M technical information; H225M missions; Airbus delivers two new H225M helicopters to France; SIPRI H-725 Ukraine transfer query; Ukrainian Ministry of Interior takes delivery of its first H225s; Ukraine MIA aviation security and civil protection system; Ukraine National Guard receives third Airbus H-225
The military Super Puma/Cougar branch is best read as a support helicopter rather than a single attack-helicopter type. Airbus describes the H215M around lift, utility, CASEVAC, SAR/CSAR, special-operations, and optional fire-support equipment, while Spanish, French, and Nigerian conflict sources show the same family performing CSAR, MEDEVAC, command, extraction, transport, search-and-rescue, and logistics tasks.
The reference H215M configuration carries up to 24 troops or a 4,500 kg external sling load, making the family useful for air movement and resupply.
Airbus lists stretcher medical-evacuation capacity and personnel-extraction equipment; Spanish and Nigerian sources document MEDEVAC or casualty-evacuation roles, while the Mali source places a Cougar NG on a mission with commandos available for possible crew extraction.
The family can carry self-protection equipment and optional door or pod weapons, but the sourced conflict rows here emphasize support missions instead of dedicated attack use.
Sources: H215M technical information; H215M missions; Spanish Air Force AS332 Super Puma and AS532 Cougar; Cougar AS 532 - French Army; BEA-E Mali Cougar-Tigre accident report; NAF helicopter used in Borno operations returns to service
Airbus lists several qualified H215M firing-mission options; these links describe current H215M family compatibility, not proof that Nigerian AS332 aircraft used the same armament in conflict.
| Carried item | Item type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Window-mounted machine gun | Airbus states that a dual-side window 7.62 mm gun can be incorporated on the H215M. Sources: H215M missions |
 | Gun pod | Airbus lists a 20 mm gun pod of 180 rounds among qualified H215M firing-mission armament. Sources: H215M missions |
 | Rocket launcher | Airbus lists 19-round 2.75-inch rocket launchers among qualified H215M firing-mission armament without naming a specific pod model. Sources: H215M missions |
Daily Sabah's retrospective on Cougar helicopter incidents identifies a 4 June 1997 northern-Iraq episode in which PKK forces targeted Turkish forces with a guided missile, killing 11 soldiers.
Sources: Cougar helicopters under spotlight after Turkish army crash
Spanish Air Force sources place AS332 Super Puma and AS532 Cougar helicopters with the Herat-based ISAF support mission, performing limited CSAR, MEDEVAC, and SASEVAC from 2005 to 2013.
Sources: Spanish Air Force AS332 Super Puma and AS532 Cougar, Spanish Air Force Superpuma HD 21-12
Airbus said the Ukraine-France intergovernmental agreement covered 55 aircraft, including 21 repurposed H225s for search-and-rescue, emergency medical, firefighting, law-enforcement, and other public-service missions.
Sources: Ukrainian Ministry of Interior takes delivery of its first H225s
Airbus announced delivery of the 1,000th Super Puma family helicopter, an H215 assembled in Marignane, and described the civil H215/H225 and military H215M/H225M family split.
Sources: Airbus delivers 1,000th Super Puma helicopter
A French Army Cougar NG flew from Menaka under Force Barkhane with an air mission commander and commandos during a response to French troops in contact west of Menaka.
Sources: BEA-E Mali Cougar-Tigre accident report
The Nigerian Air Force named Super Puma helicopter fleets among platforms deployed with the Operation LAFIYA DOLE Air Task Force against Boko Haram and ISWAP.
Sources: Counter-Insurgency: CAS Commends Air Task Force
Ukraine's Interior Ministry said 17 French helicopters were already operating in its system, including H225 aircraft with the State Emergency Service and National Guard.
Sources: Ukraine MIA aviation security and civil protection system
A SIPRI public-backend query for H-725 transfers lists five second-hand H-725 Caracal helicopters from France to Ukraine with 2022 delivery.
Sources: SIPRI H-725 Ukraine transfer query
Airbus announced delivery of two newly built H225M helicopters to France and identified the French H225M nickname as Caracal.
Sources: Airbus delivers two new H225M helicopters to France
The Punch reported the return to service of Nigerian Air Force Super Puma NAF 565 after reactivation, listing troop transport, casualty evacuation, search and rescue, and logistics roles.
Sources: NAF helicopter used in Borno operations returns to service
