kiwipatriot69
Active Member
Will the C17 be able to carry both NH90 or just one?
Royal New Zealand Air Force
- Thread starter Lucasnz
- Start date
Will the C17 be able to carry both NH90 or just one?
I do not know. They carried two Iroquois the last time we deployed them to PNG, but they were shorter and narrower. They also have to include the groundies aircrew etc., plus the blades and all the support equip, coms gear, camp pack-up everything. I have also learnt that when they are transported the blades are removed to reduce the flex and associated stress on them during transport.
John Fedup
The Bunker Group
I recall SAR criticism about difficulties of deploying the our CH-149s (Merlin derivative) to the Arctic, only one per C-17 apparently. The NH90 and CH-149 are of similar size.
40 deg south
Well-Known Member
NZDF providing support for Solomon Islands election
This NZDF press release makes it clear that the C-17 is taking one NH90 per trip. Note that it is taking support equipment as well - I don't know if it would be possible to cram two of them in if there was nothing else on-board. My guess is probably not.
Police helicopter moving from Mechanics Bay base to Onehunga
Police eagle helicopter getting more capable machines to replace the current fleet. Apparently they are the ex RAN helos.
I wonder if they will take on more of the tasks previously done by the hueys for police due to the increased cost of the NH90? will look good in their colours regardless and a decent upgrade.
Police eagle helicopter getting more capable machines to replace the current fleet. Apparently they are the ex RAN helos.
I wonder if they will take on more of the tasks previously done by the hueys for police due to the increased cost of the NH90? will look good in their colours regardless and a decent upgrade.
Maybe it's these 3?
Bell 429 Global Ranger | Royal Australian Navy
If were were smart about it we should have picked up the 4th and maybe had a Police chopper based in Wellington?
ADF Serials - Bell 429
I see that NZDF have developed a MEDEVAC capability for their NH-90 helos.
NZDF reaches new heights in aeromedical evacuation exercise
NZDF reaches new heights in aeromedical evacuation exercise
Probably, but the buyer is a private commercial entity, not the NZ Police. Anyway police helos really don't have anything to do with RNZAF so are off topic.
t68
Well-Known Member
It’s good that you practice this sort of thing, but how long does it take to set up and remove, out of a fleet of 8 your asking a lot from the fleet
Redlands18
Well-Known Member
Post withdrawn, off Topic
Last edited:
Probably asking about as much as it takes to re-role the same comparitive role in the even smaller 757 or herc fleet...
Re-roleing a huey from clean to pax to sniper took no time at all and for the amount of times we will actually use the full AME set up in the NH90 I don't actually see it as an ask at all. It's more about confirming the training, procedures and operation for the users if anything and making sure it can be set up quickly and used by the right people.
If this capability was available in Afghan possibly lives could of been saved, as it was PRT had to wait for AME to arrive from Bagram which was no small distance. UH1H could not operate at the altitudes that the PRT was operating in so IMHO having a craft like the NH-90 based at the FOB and being able to swing role into AME is a capability well worth having.
CD
t68
Well-Known Member
Agree it’s a capbilty worth having and I commend the RNZAF for taking the role on, but what I’m question is the time frame required to do the task if for instance the NZ flight was tasked to Support both troop and AME concurrently. In the US it’s a specialty area with there own pararescue units and aircraft which train for the role
In the case listed above is it better for RNZAF to provide full time niche to support coalition events due to the small foot print of the RNZAF rotary numbers?
And that's why we do this training so if need be we can do it and have a cadre of pers that can do it, but it as you say it is a niche role and I highly doubt we would "dedicate" aircraft to the role unless required, much like any task. The role in Mali was AME and if we had of done it then the frames would have been set up full time with dedicated medics leaving the French to concentrate on troop movements. The Belgium AF ended up doing the mission and they have even less 90s (TTH) than we do so it is very doable.
The Mali mission is ongoing so perhaps we could still get a crack at it in the future.
Don't think it's a UN operation Reg and this govt won't go near it if it's not a mandated UN OP. If it is though not a silly idea and could be used as leverage for more airframes.
It is a UN op and was a considered op, I'm not just making this up, only it was with the Germans not the French, my bad.
I got the feeling we were more trying to deploy the 90s to prove the capability and show the naysayers much like the late LAV deployment to Afghan.
John Fedup
The Bunker Group
Yes the Mali OP is indeed a UN mission and Canada only went there because junior wanted to make a big deal that Canada was back for the UN(total farce IMO). We sent two CH-147s and four next to useless armed Griffons for protection as Canada has no proper helicopter gunships. Our involvement is due to end shortly.
Yes I get the feeling we were looking at it for the same kind of reasons, we have not done a major blue hat deployment for quite sometime, mainly due to us being heavily committed to Afghan, Timor and sollies so they were feeling out deployments that we could contribute to beneficially and show our commitment so to speak. I actually think it would be a good mission, not directly military (medevac support) to keep the hippies happy but still a vital capability to keep our allies happy, niche like the US birds. Still a dangerous op no doubt about it (one of the UNs deadliest so far) but one I feel we can support.