NHIndustries and the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (NDMA, Forsvarsbygg) have signed the acceptance of the 12th helicopter that has been delivered to the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Defence (Det kgl. Forsvarsdepartement). The NH90 NNWN002 medium-sized multi-role military helicopter acceptance, started at Leonardo Helicopters’ facility in Tessera (Venice) on April 20th, was successfully accomplished on schedule on June 30th, with the signature of the Certificate of Transfer from NHIndustries to NDMA.
Leonardo Helicopters maintenance and storage control will keep the helicopter in Tessera, at the Norwegian Acceptance Team request, until end of August. The ferry flight to Bardufoss Norway will take place after the summer break. Moreover, NHIndustries has proposed to the NDMA to begin the acceptance process for the recently finished NNWN001, which is in Coast Guard (CG) Final Operating Configuration (FOC). NDMA and NHI teams are working together in order to start NNWN001 Acceptance as soon as possible.
In 2001, Norway ordered 14 NH90 helicopters for use by the Royal Norwegian Navy and Norwegian Coast Guard, to be delivered in 2005-2008. In December 2011, the first helicopter was delivered. In September 2018, the Norwegian Armed Forces reversed course and released an updated study that affirms that under “certain conditions” the requirements for both the navy and coast guard can be met with the current order of 14 helicopters. The conditions specifically state good spare parts availability, sufficient aircraft for maintenance scheduling and a sufficient overhaul capacity.
The NHIndustries NH90 is a medium-sized, twin-engine, multi-role military helicopter. It was developed in response to NATO requirements for a battlefield helicopter which would also be capable of being operated in naval environments. The NH90 was developed and is manufactured by NHIndustries, a collaborative company owned by Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo (formerly AgustaWestland) and Fokker Aerostructures. The NH90 is the first production helicopter to feature entirely fly-by-wire flight controls.
