NHIndustries signed an agreement with the NATO Helicopter Management Agency [NAHEMA] to better support the German and French NH90 helicopter fleets.
After the uproar caused by Australia’s resolution to give an early retirement to its NH90 fleet, and the shock caused by Norway’s decision to terminate the contract with NHI, return all its helicopters and demand a refund, Europe’s largest helicopter joint venture is rushing to show that it has a solution to the recurring operational availability problems of its aircraft.
See also: Norway terminates NH90 contract and demands a refund
As reported by Airbus Helicopters (co-owner of NHI) the support contract was signed with the NATO agency NAHEMA, because it will act as contracting authority on behalf of the Direction générale de l’armement (the French General Armament Directorate) and the Direction de la maintenance aéronautique (the French Aeronautics Support Directorate) for the French Ministry of the Armed Forces and the BAAINBww for the German Ministry of Defense. This contract should improve the availability rates of NH90 naval (NFH) and tactical (TTH) helicopters.
The NH90 Operational Support (NOS) contract, which will be performance based, will see both nations delegating a major part of their logistics and maintenance activity to NHIndustries, enabling them to focus on their operations. The agreement was also designed in a way that allows additional nations to join at any time.
«NHIndustries is fully committed to ensuring customer satisfaction, and the contents of this agreement have been carefully crafted to provide the French and German armed forces with the right set of services for improving NH90 operability, affordability and serviceability. This new support contract will also strengthen our current relationship with our partner NAHEMA,” says Nathalie Tarnaud-Laude, President of NHIndustries. “The contract includes support of the customers’ continuing airworthiness management organizations, which ensures the continued airworthiness of aircraft and their parts and establishes an improved approach for supply chain management for spare parts and component MRO.”
“This agreement, made up of a harmonized set of services that cover the operational needs of several helicopter variants, marks a new phase of the dynamic engagement between NHIndustries and NAHEMA”, says Admiral Giorgio Gomma, General Manager of NAHEMA. “We are confident that this new approach will improve the effectiveness of NH90 fleets and could soon be expanded to other nations that operate these helicopters.”
Through the contract, NHIndustries takes full responsibility for ensuring the continuous flow of spare parts to France and Germany through a flight-hour-based service. It will manage the inventories of both nations, while also allocating resources to ensure that scheduled inspections and maintenance run seamlessly.
Additionally, the contract includes a variety of catalogue services that can be activated as required by the entire community or by individual nations, thus allowing maximum flexibility.
The agreement covers five years of support with two optional extensions of five years each, for a total duration of 15 years. It will serve up to one hundred NH90s in France and up to 131 NH90s in Germany.
The NH90 military helicopter is a modern multipurpose helicopter designed in two versions, tactical transport (TTH) and NATO frigate helicopter (NFH). The NH90 contains a unique and fully integrated mission system for operations in the most demanding conditions over land and sea, day, and night. It has been ordered by fourteen nations (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Australia, Finland, Greece, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Qatar, Spain, and Sweden), including two dissatisfied customers, who will be looking to replace them shortly.
