Bombardier Defense announced that German automobile association, Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (ADAC SE), has placed an order for a Bombardier Challenger 650 through its daughter company Aero-Dienst. The aircraft will be configured as a dedicated air ambulance for Aero-Dienst, ADAC’s main aircraft operator, and is scheduled for delivery in 2026. The aircraft will be used to provide medical transportation to ADAC’s customers around the world.
“Aero-Dienst, with its long-term expertise in ambulance service for our parent company ADAC SE, is very much looking forward to bringing the Bombardier Challenger 650 into service under our AOC,” said Dr Oliver Kosing, one of the two managing directors of Aero-Dienst. “The Challenger 650 is the best aircraft available for our kind of ambulance operation as the performance fits perfectly to our flight profiles.”
“Another important factor for Aero-Dienst is the availability of intensive care medical equipment at the highest level for transportation of up to four patients,” continued Kosing. “Furthermore, the dimensions of the fuselage with its large diameter and standing height enables our med crew to provide the best possible care for patients during the flight.”
The Challenger 650 has cabin space for up to four stretchers, and a range of 4,000 nautical miles (7,408km).
Bombardier Defense has dedicated in-house engineering and support teams with the ability to incorporate customer-requested modifications and provide comprehensive integration solutions with full certification capabilities across a full spectrum of civilian, military and hybrid operations.
“Our Challenger aircraft are distinguished by their class-leading reliability, flexibility and versatility – characteristics that are necessary to respond quickly to emergencies and provide life-saving medical assistance,” said Steve Patrick, VP, Bombardier Defense. “Bombardier has a long history of delivering medevac aircraft, so we are extremely honoured that our Challenger 650 aircraft can contribute to the important work ADAC is doing to provide aid to their customers.”
“The ambulance service of ADAC Versicherung AG, in cooperation with Aero-Dienst in Nuremberg, has been setting global standards in the field of patient repatriation for over 50 years,” said Sascha Petzold, board of management, ADAC Versicherung. “By investing in a new aircraft, we are reaffirming our commitment to providing our ADAC members and policyholders with first-class services. Thanks to the Challenger 650’s long range, we are able to serve our members worldwide with our own ADAC fleet. The acquisition of this new aircraft is another significant step in our strategy to modernise our fleet and continue to provide the highest level of service to our ADAC members and policyholders.”
