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With the symbolic milestone of the first series production delivery to Germany now in sight, partners in the NH90 multi-role naval and tactical transport helicopter are focusing their efforts more than ever on the export market. Substantial additional orders are also expected from the original partner nations, such as the French Army and the German Navy, to name but two. Eurocopter CEO Fabrice Brégier promises there is still “much more to come” on what he refers to as a programme that “takes us into the top league of international military suppliers in a market previously dominated by US manufacturers”. The twin-engine NH90 — described by Brégier as the most advanced and capable helicopter in its class worldwide — is designed to meet the requirements in the area of naval (NFH) and tactical transport (TTH) operations. Only the mission system differentiates the two applications which are fully-qualified for IMC single-pilot operation. By virtue of its key features and systems integration, NH90 is capable of operating by day and night in adverse weather conditions. The NH90 is managed through prime contractor NH Industries, which includes Agusta, Eurocopter and Stork Fokker AESP. Alongside the 253 firm orders and 55 options from the five partner nations (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal), the 10-tonne fly-by-wire NH90 has already accumulated 72 firm orders and 31 options from Scandinavia (Finland, Norway and Sweden) and — most recently — Greece. Among the near-term prospects for additional export business are Australia, where the NH90 is in competition with the Sikorsky Black Hawk for a decision expected as we went to press. The NH90 is seen well placed technically though perhaps suffering from a price disadvantage compared with its US rival. The initial procurement is expected to cover 40 NH90s or 48 Black Hawks — 15 new machines and 33 retrofits of existing aircraft. Oman (20 tactical transport units) is also expected to make a decision this year, while Singapore’s selection (6-8 ASW variants) is already overdue. A government-to-government deal involving the naval variant is under discussion with Saudi Arabia, which has a requirement for 10 aircraft. A formal proposal from NH Industries should be submitted this summer. Strong interest in Spain Strong interest is also being shown by Spain (which has a potential requirement for at least 50 helos) and New Zealand, which needs 8-14 machines and is expected to follow Australia’s lead if Canberra opts for the NH90. NH Industries is also preparing the ground for a Japanese RFP, expected in 2006/2007, and is upbeat about its chances in the UK, where it sees the NH90 covering virtually the entire spectrum of future requirements for the British forces, including the Support Amphibious and Battlefield Rotorcraft (SABR) for the RAF and Royal Navy, the Army’s Battlefield Light Utility Helicopter (BLUH) and the Royal Navy’s Surface Combatant Maritime Rotorcraft (SCMR) programmes. The delivery of the first production machine comes four years after the production MoU was signed … but 14 years after programme launch by the four initial partner nations way back in 1990 — before Eurocopter itself was created. There are currently 28-30 machines in production and final assembly, i.e. with fuselage sections joined. NH Industries expects to deliver 75-80 helicopters through the end of 2006. Production is seen stabilising in the 40-50 per year range over the next few years, though capacity could theoretically be pushed to 60 under the existing production setup, comprising four final assembly lines (in France, Germany, Italy and Finland) fed by a single-source supply chain arrangement for individual components. Customised configurations Production currently covers an impressive total of 20 customised configurations, though this broad range suffers from the drawback of generating a significant complementary development workload, particularly in the software area. Production shares are 30.85% each for Eurocopter and Eurocopter Deutschland, 31.6% for Agusta, 5.5% for Stork-Fokker and 1.2% for Portuguese industry. As of May, the NH90 had 2,300 development flight hours under its belt, including 1,150 in fly-by-wire configuration. The qualification process is now in the final stages The TTH tactical transport variant is scheduled to complete qualification flight trials in the autumn, and to be available to the German Army for training purposes by the end of the year, with full qualification to follow in April 2005. Qualification flights for the NFH variant are slated for completion in September 2005, followed by qualification in November. Delivery of the first qualified TTH version is targeted for June 2005, while the first qualified NFH will be handed over in December 2005. Designed for 10,000 flight hours or a 30-year service life, the NH90 aims to offer a standard availability better than 87%, with more than 4 hours mean time between failures (MTBF), mission reliability greater than 97.5% and typical maintenance effort at 1st and 2nd levels less than 2.5 maintenace man hours per flight hour. The German Army has ordered 50 TTHs with 30 options, while the Air Force has ordered 7 TTHs with 24 options, plus an additional 23 TTHs with CSAR provision. France is scheduled to receive the first of its 27 NFH shipborne variants at the end of 2005, while the Army has yet to formally order its 68 TTHs — first deliveries of the latter are currently scheduled for 2011. Delivery of the machines currently on order is seen stretching to 2018. | ||||||
