AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce the delivery of the first NH90 NFH helicopter to the Norwegian Armed Forces. The delivery ceremony took place 30th November at AgustaWestland’s Vergiate facility in the presence of Brigadier General/Commander Frode R Flǿlo, NDLO Air Systems Division.
The NH90 delivered is the first of 14 NH90s intended to replace the Lynx helicopters for the Coast Guard in addition to providing helicopter ASW capability to the new Nansen class frigates. The Norwegian NH90s will be based at Bardufoss Air Station where they will start their operational career after initial training. Norway is one of the nations selecting the NFH variant together with The Netherlands, France, Italy and Belgium. A total of 111 NH90 NFH naval helicopters have been ordered by these nations.
The NH90 NFH variant is primarily designed for autonomous and joint Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and Anti Surface Warfare (ASuW) missions. The comprehensive mission equipment packages allow a wide range of additional missions to be performed including Search and Rescue (SAR), maritime patrol, vertical replenishment, troop transport, medical evacuation and amphibious support roles.
The helicopter is designed for day and night operations in adverse weather conditions from the decks of ships. Because of its optimal weight and dimensions, the deck-lock system, the deck traversing system and the automatic blade and tail folding system, it can operate from small frigates even in high sea states.
The NH90 is the most successful European helicopter programme ever. Firm orders have been placed by 14 countries including France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Greece, Spain and Belgium in Europe, as well as Australia, New Zealand and Oman overseas.
The NH90, developed in the TTH utility transport and NFH naval versions, proves the ideal solution to meet requirements of customers worldwide for a wide range of military roles. The NH90 programme is managed by NAHEMA (NATO Helicopter Management Agency) representing France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Portugal, and by the NHIndustries industrial consortium comprising AgustaWestland (32%), Eurocopter (62.5%), Fokker (5.5%).
In the framework of the NH90 programme, AgustaWestland is responsible for the production of the main transmission, tail drive shafts, hydraulic system, automatic flight control system, rear ramp, rear fuselage and on-board computers. Furthermore, AgustaWestland is also responsible for the overall integration of the NH90 naval mission system for all NFH variants and in particular the electronic warfare system for Norway.
AgustaWestland’s Venice Tessera plant is the new final assembly line for the NH90s ordered by Italy (Army and Navy, 60 and 56 helicopters respectively), the Netherlands (20), Norway (14) and Portugal (10) giving a total of 160 helicopters so far.
