The Sud Aviation SA 330 Puma was remarkable in being the first day or night all-weather helicopter developed outside the Soviet Union. Born out of mid-1960s requirement for a medium transport for the Aviation Légère (ALAT), the Puma is a conventional twin turboshaft helicopter with a four-blade rotor, retractable tricycle landing gear, and a large cabin capable of carrying up to 20 troops or six stretchers among other cargo although it was also quite adept at the armed assault transport role. The Puma was also notable in being the first joint production deal with the United Kingdom where it was locally manufactured by Westland (the second being the Gazelle). Pumas have been used for a wide variety of secondary roles (both military and civil) including search and rescue and liasion, and have been adopted by over 30 countries including license production in South Africa (Atlas), Romania (ICA), and Indonesia (Nurtanio).

Maiden flight of the first prototype SA 330 was on 30 July 1968 and was followed by the first production variant, the SA 330B, which entered service with the ALAT the following year (export versions were known as the SA 330C). Westland-built helicopters for the RAF were based on the SA 330E and known in the UK as the Puma HC.1. Other versions included the SA 330F and SA 330G civil passenger transports (the latter with uprated engines), while the SA 330H was a similary enhanced version of the SA 330C. Ultimate variants of the Puma were the SA 330J (civil) and SA 330L (military) with de-iced engine inlets and composite rotor blades. Atlas-built South African variants were known as the Oryx (Antelope).