This 'super medium-sized' helicopter started its life as the Eurocopter EC175, jointly developed with Harbin from China where it would be the Z-15. When Eurocopter was absorbed in the Airbus consortium it became the Airbus Helicopters H175. In China, the name was also changed, in Avicopter AC352.

The H175 has a stubby appearance thanks to the rather short fuselage and tail boom, and in particular a relatively large engine/gear box housing, creating a 'waterhead' appearance. At the end, where the tail boom starts, there are strakes. The fuselage has a 'bone line' like the NH90, but less pronounced. The two wheeled nose gear retracts rearward in the fuselage, but remains partially visible. The single main gears retract to the side of the fuselage, but remain exposed. The helicopter has a five-blade main rotor and a three-blade, slightly tilted tail rotor on top of the vertical stabiliser. Finally, the horizontal stabilisers, placed aft of the vertical stabiliser, have rounded triangular end plates. 

The different versions of the H175 and AC352 can be distinguished by looking at

• the shape and location engine exhausts
• the presence of strakes at the end of the gear box hub

The Airbus H175 has two Pratt & Whitney engines, which have rectangular exhausts popping out of the side of the hub on top of the fuselage. See the first detail photo above.

H175M is the marketing name for the military version, but so far we haven't noticed a difference compared to the civil version.

The Chinese variant has Chinese engines, which have round exhausts at the end of the gear box hub, pointing up. The AC352 does not have the strakes at the junction of the gear box hub and tail boom like the H175.