Norway has had enough of the NH90

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TheGreenGoblin
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Norway has had enough of the NH90

#1 Post by TheGreenGoblin » Sat Jun 11, 2022 5:24 am

Gwladys Fouche
Fri, 10 June 2022,
By Gwladys Fouche
OSLO (Reuters) - Norway said it would axe its fleet of NH90 military helicopters and ask for a refund from a consortium led by Europe's Airbus, which hit back by calling the move "legally groundless".

Norway will return the NH90 military helicopters it ordered from the NHIndustries consortium because they are either unreliable or were delivered late, the defence minister and the head of the military said on Friday.

Oslo said it would also seek repayment of 5 billion crowns ($523 million) plus interest and other costs from NHIndustries, which is owned by Airbus Helicopters, Italy's Leonardo and Fokker Aerostructures of the Netherlands.

"No matter how many hours our technicians work, and how many parts we order, it will never make the NH90 capable of meeting the requirements of the Norwegian Armed Forces," Defence Minister Bjoern Arild Gram told a news conference.

The helicopter consortium said it was "extremely disappointed" by the decision.

"NHIndustries considers this termination to be legally groundless," it said in statement.

It said it had not been offered the possibility to discuss the latest proposal made to improve the availability of the NH90 in Norway or address specific Norwegian requirements.

Airbus shares fell just over 1%.

The original contract for 14 helicopters was signed in 2001 but Norway has received only eight, the ministry said.

"We have a helicopter that doesn't work the way it's supposed to," said General Eirik Kristoffersen, the head of Norway's armed forces.

However, NHIndustries said it had delivered 13 of 14 and the fourteenth was ready for acceptance, meaning "we were close to finalising the main scope of the initial contract."

($1 = 9.5572 Norwegian crowns)

NHIndustries NH90

Since its introduction into service, the NH90 has suffered several technical issues, which have delayed active deployment of the type by some operators.
Norway
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 July 2012, the Norwegian Deputy Defence Minister Roger Ingebrigtsen announced that "once our current Westland Lynx helicopters reach their end of life in 2014, we are going to have replacement helicopters on our naval vessels. If the NH90 hasn’t been delivered, we will purchase another helicopter...considering that the aircraft were to be delivered by 2005, and that delivery is yet to start by 2012, our confidence in the producer isn't exactly on the rise" In August 2012 it was reported that the Royal Norwegian Air Force would be recommending that the Ministry of Defence contact Sikorsky to verify whether versions of the H-60 Seahawk, specifically the MH-60R, would be a viable alternative to the NH-90 in the anti-submarine warfare (ASW) role. Defence Minister Espen Barth Eide stated "We still believe the marine version of the NH90 to be the optimal platform, and we hope to purchase it, but there are limits to our patience." In January 2016, six of the 14 aircraft had been delivered.

A February 2018 report by the Norwegian Armed Forces found that its fleet of NH90 helicopters offer insufficient flight hours for the intended roles. The report advised that all helicopters are converted to the anti-submarine warfare role as required by the Royal Norwegian Navy, as opposed to current plans which see 6 of the 14 helicopters in that role, and the rest configured for Norwegian Coast Guard duties. The Norwegian Ministry of Defence stated that it would consider the report's recommendations before making a decision on the matter.

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. Norwegian Minister of Defence Frank Bakke-Jensen added that although the inauguration is challenging, the ministry holds on to the timeline in which phasing in will be completed by 2022. In February 2022 the Norwegian Minister of Defense again threatened to terminate the NH90 contract due to great concerns regarding new delays and NHI not meeting contractual obligations, considering sourcing alternative helicopters.

In June 2022 the Norwegian Minister of Defense announced the Norwegian Defence Material Agency would be given the task to terminate the NH90 contract due to NHI not meeting contractual obligations, and announced that the NH90 is taken out of operation with immediate effect.
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Re: Norway has had enough of the NH90

#2 Post by FD2 » Wed Sep 07, 2022 10:31 pm

I'm not surprised the Norwegians have lost patience. I haven't tried to find the spec of the version they ordered though I suspect it's much more complex than the one the RNZAF operates here. The Kiwis seem to have got over the hump of the early poor reliability problems.

Nothing in the press later than about June so I guess there's haggling and threats being made by the French. I hope the Norwegians get what they want!

https://asiapacificdefencereporter.com/ ... licopters/

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