Eurocopter has signed an agreement to supply seven AS350 B3 Ecureuil helicopters to the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture.

The helicopters will be used for crop spraying missions over vast fields of date palm trees, which provide a major source of agricultural revenue for the country.

Deliveries of these single-engine workhorse rotary-wing aircraft will begin in the first quarter of 2011, with Eurocopter providing training sessions for Iraqi personnel at its facility in South Africa.

The AS350 B3 is perfectly tailored for hot and high operations in Iraq, and will be fully equipped to perform the aerial spraying of date palm tree fields that occurs several times each year, a spokesperson said.

“This is an extremely important contract for Eurocopter, as the AS350 B3 fleet will contribute to the development of a stable economy in Iraq,” said Olivier Lambert, Eurocopter’s vice president sales and customers relations.-TradeArabia News Service