During the 1980s, there was considerable interest within French aerospace manufacturer Aerospatiale to further develop their successful AS350 B3 Écureuil rotorcraft, which had been originally developed in the early 1970s.
Durante os anos 80 houbo un considerable interese dentro do fabricante francés Aérospatiale de desenvolver aínda máis o seu exitoso helicóptero AS350 B3 Écureuil, que fora desenvolvido orixinalmente a principios dos 70.