Enstrom has started delivering 30 TH-480B, single-engine, turbine helicopters to the JGSDF. The aircraft will be used primarily for helicopter training. Enstrom

Heli-Expo 2012 served as the backdrop for showing off one of 30 Enstrom TH-480B aircraft purchased by the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force (JGSDF) for use as its primary helicopter trainer. The blue and gold, single-engine turbines began replacing the force’s aging fleet of OH-6 trainers in early 2011.

“The total design of this helicopter is built around training,” said Jerry Mullins, president and CEO of Enstrom. “The visibility [and] seating arrangement is important to training.”

The TH-480Bs were built at the Enstrom plant in Menominee, Mich., and shipped to Aero Facility Co., Enstrom’s representative in Japan, for final delivery to the JGSDF.