The NH90 features a redundant fly-by-wire flight control system for reduced pilot’s workload and enhanced flight characteristics. NHIndustries Photo
NHI has announced the delivery of the sixth NH90 helicopter to the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA). This event took place in Tessera, Italy, at the Finmeccanica Helicopter Division facility, in presence of Vittorio Della Bella, managing director of NHIndustries and Col. Nils Frøisland from Norway.
The helicopter took off on Feb. 4 from Tessera.
The delivery of this sonar equipped NH90, marks the end of the first phase of the Norwegian production program and it joins the NH90 fleet, which will commence embarked operations for the Norwegian Coast Guard later this year. The next phase of the program includes the delivery of six helicopters configured for Anti-submarine warfare and two further helicopters configured for Coast Guard operations.
“The Norwegian NH90 is a perfect example of versatility, able to fulfill a wide spectrum of missions with its state-of-the-art mission system tailored to the Norwegian needs, the NH90 has been designed with mission success in mind, and our return on experience is that the NH90 is a tremendous aircraft, appreciated by its crews,” said Della Bella.
The Norwegian NH90 Nato Frigate Helicopter (NFH) is a maritime helicopter, able to operate in the most demanding conditions by day and night thanks to its state-of-the-art mission system, its de-icing system and its various sensors such as its electronic warfare suite, its multimode radar and its sonic suite.
The NH90 is the optimal choice for modern operations thanks to its large full composite airframe, its excellent power to weight ratio, and its wide range of role equipment. It features a redundant fly-by-wire flight control system for reduced pilot’s workload and enhanced flight characteristics.
The NH90 is proposed in two main variants, one dedicated to naval operations, the NH90 NFH and a tactical transport variant for land based operations. As of recently, 270 helicopters have been delivered in naval and tactical transport variants. They are in service in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Greece, Oman, Belgium, Australia and New Zealand.
The twin-engine, medium-size NH90 helicopter program is managed by the consortium NHIndustries, the company owned by Finmeccanica Helicopter Division (32 percent), Airbus Helicopters (62.5 percent), and Fokker Aerostructures (5.5 percent).
