The Royal Netherlands Navy takes delivery of its first NH90 NFH

AgustaWestland has announced on behalf of NH Industries the delivery of the first NH90 NFH helicopter to the Royal Netherlands Navy during an official ceremony held today at AgustaWestland's Vergiate plant in Italy.

The Royal Netherlands Navy has ordered a total of 20 NH90 NFH aircraft. Today's event marks the first delivery of a naval NH90 NFH variant to a customer.

The Dutch, French, Italian, Norwegian and Belgian navies have ordered a total of 111 NH90 NFH naval helicopters which will give operators a dramatic improvement in operational capability and mission effectiveness, thanks to the outstanding technology incorporated in to the NH90.

The NH90 NFH variant is primarily designed for autonomous 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.

Due to its 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. A total of 529 firm orders have been placed by 19 armed forces in 14 countries including The Netherlands, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal , Sweden, Finland, Norway, Greece, Spain and Belgium in Europe, as well as Australia, New Zealand and Oman overseas and 44 NH90 helicopters are already in service today. The NH90, developed in the TTH utility transport and NFH naval versions, proves the ideal solution to meet requirements from many potential additional customers worldwide for a number of duties.

The NH90 programme is managed by NAHEMA (NATO Helicopter Management Agency) representing France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Portugal, and by the NH Industries industrial consortium comprising AgustaWestland (32%), Eurocopter (62.5%) and Fokker Aerostructures (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, the T700/6E1 engine solution installation and on-board computers. Furthermore, AgustaWestland is also responsible for the overall integration of the NH90 naval mission system for all NFH variants.

Source: AgustaWestland