Royal Netherlands Navy Takes Delivery of Its First NH90NFH

23.04.2010 NHIndustries is pleased to announce the delivery of the first NH90NFH 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 NH90NFH aircrafts, today's event marks the first delivery of a naval NH90NFH variant to a customer.

The Dutch, French, Italian, Norwegian and Belgian navies have ordered a total of 111 NH90NFH 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 NH90NFH 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 embarked operations to be performed by day and night in adverse weather conditions.

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 France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, The Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Greece, Spain and Belgium in Europe, as well as Australia, Oman and New Zealand 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 large number of missions.

Today's delivery is a key event that paves the way to the operational entry in service of the NH90 in its naval version. This is also a strong message addressed to potential worldwide customers that the NH90 NFH has arrived on the scene.

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 Eurocopter (62.5%), AgustaWestland (32%), and Fokker Aerostructures (5.5%).