Airbus Helicopters NH90

Medium-Lift Transport / Utility Helicopter [ 2007 ]

The Airbus Helicopters NH90 series medium-lift transport helicopter has caught on with several notable military forces of the world.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 12/05/2023 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

Image from Airbus Helicopters official marketing material.

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The NH90, developed by Eurocopter's helicopter arm NHIndustries (now under the Airbus Helicopters brand label), is a medium-lift multirole platform in service with several of the primary European militaries. It saw a first flight on December 18th, 1995 and was introduced in 2007. Production has been ongoing since 1995 and some 244 units have been completed to date (2015). The NH90 is the first helicopter in history to sport a full fly-by-wire control scheme.

Outwardly, the NH90 is a sleek modern offering. It sits its piloting crew in a side-by-side arrangement at the front of the fuselage, aft of a short nose cone. Vision out-of-the-cockpit is good. The passenger cabin takes up the aft space and is lined with rectangular windows for viewing. A raised tail stem allows a powered cargo ramp to be fitted which allows complete access to the cargo hold within. The main rotor blade is a composite four-bladed system seated low on the fuselage roof. A four-bladed unit, mounted to the portside, makes up the tail rotor installation atop the vertical tail fin. A sole horizontal plane is seated along starboard. The wheeled undercarriage is retractable to preserve aerodynamic quality.

The NH90 can support two engine brands based on customer need / logistics - the Rolls-Royce Turbomeca RTM322-01/9 turboshaft of 2,230 horsepower and the General Electric T700-T6E turboshaft of 2,115 horsepower. The helicopter seats two engine units above the cabin space and, when coupled to the advanced airframe design, allows the NH90 a maximum speed of 185 miles per hour, a range out to 500 miles and a service ceiling of 20,000 feet. A rate-of-climb of 1,575 feet-per-minute is listed.

Internally, the NH90 can seat up to 20 combat-ready troops or up to two NATO-standard cargo pallets. Additionally, there is an underslung cargo load hauling feature that allows another 9,260 lb to be carried externally. For the MEDEVAC role, the cabin fits up to twelve medical litters and staff. If armed for combat zone service, the MH90 supports 7.62mm door guns on trainable mounts for local defense. In the anti-ship / anti-submarine role, missiles or torpedoes can be carried aloft.

Operators of the NH90 system currently (2015) include Australia (as the MRH-90 "Taipan" - detailed elsewhere on this site), Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy (SH-90A/UH-90A), Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Oman, Spain and Sweden (as the HKp 14/14b). Both Portugal and Saudi Arabia backed out of orders for the NH90.

There are two primary variants in the NH90 lineup: "NFH" is used to designate "NATO Frigate Helicopters" equipped for the anti-ship / anti-submarine role and are all-weather, day-night hunting platforms. These can also serve in Search and Rescue (SAR), general transport and humanitarian assistance roles. "TTH" is used to mark "Tactical Transport Helicopter" models serving in dedicated transport roles (cargo or personnel). Its covered roles can also include airborne infantry insertion, Electronic Warfare (EW), training, VIP passenger transportation, special operations support and the like.

Operational service of NH90s has not been without issue. There have been ongoing concerns about overall performance to the point that some global forces delayed service entry until issues could be rectified or proven false. Dutch airframes noted excessive wear early on and German concerns focused on hauling capability and weaknesses in the cargo door installation. Spool bending in the turboshaft engines has been noted in both German and Australian operation resulting in the grounding of whole NH90 fleets. Additionally, the Australians have encountered consistent windshield fracturing and deformations of the lightweight cabin floor resulting in forced modifications.©MilitaryFactory.com

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October 2017 - The NH90 is a contender for the new Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) requirement of South Korea. Other contenders are the Leonardo AW159 and Sikorsky MH-60R series.

August 2018 - Qatar has secured a deal for twenty-eight NHIndustries NH90 helicopters. Deliveries will commence in 2022 and run into 2025. Twelve of the lot will be navalized versions (NFH) while the remaining sixteen will be outfitted for general utility/transport roles (TTH).

September 2018 - The Spanish government has green-lighted the acquisition of 23 NHIndustries NH90 transport helicopters, set to bring the Spanish fleet to 45 before the end.

August 2019 - The German government has approved a deal for the German Navy to acquire the NH90 to replace the service's aging line of Westland Sea Lynx 88A helicopters in the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) role. These will join the twenty-one already on order to succeed an aging stock of Westland Sea king 41 SAR/utility helicopters.

August 2019 - Norway has taken deliver of its first Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) equipped NH90 NFH series helicopter.

October 2019 - The German military is looking to have its full fleet of NH90 helicopters, named "Sea Lion", in operational service before 2030. The German forms are the first to feature an updated avionics suite allowing them to traverse civilian airspaces.

October 2019 - It was announced that NH90 helicopters are slated to receive avionics software upgrades as the product moves towards its first round of modernization and continues to mature on the world stage.

July 2020 - A Dutch Coast Guard NH90 helicopter has crashed in the Caribbean Sea near Aruba on July 19th, 2020 while on patrol leading to a suspension of NH90-related operations for the country.

August 2020 - The Dutch NH90 fleet has resumed operations.

October 2020 - The French military is modifying ten of its NH90 helicopter fleet for the special operations role.

December 2020 - The German Navy has ordered 31 NH90 helicopters to satisfy the requirements of its Sea Tiger program. The helicopter will succeed an aging line of Westland Sea Lynx helos in the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and anti-ship role.

January 2021 - NH90 variants (overland and maritime forms) intended for Qatar has completed their first flights.

April 2022 - Qatar has formally accepted its first two NH90 navy helicopter airframes.

June 2022 - Citing availability issues, Norway has given up use of the NH90 series helicopters.

Specifications

Airbus Helicopters (NHIndustries (NHI) / Eurocopter) - France / Leonardo - Italy
Manufacturer(s)

Australia; Belgium; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Italy; Netherlands; New Zealand; Norway (former); Oman; Qatar; Spain; Sweden
Operators

2007
Service Year

France
National Origin

Active
Project Status

3
Crew

425
Units

CLOSE-AIR SUPPORT
Developed to operate in close proximity to active ground elements by way of a broad array of air-to-ground ordnance and munitions options.

SPECIAL-MISSION: AIRBORNE EARLY WARNING
Specially-equipped platform providing over-battlefield Command and Control (C2) capability for allied aerial elements.

SPECIAL-MISSION: ANTI-SUBMARINE WARFARE
Equipped to search, track, and engage enemy underwater elements by way of specialized onboard equipment and weapons.

SPECIAL-MISSION: ANTI-SHIP
Equipped to search, track, and engage enemy surface elements through visual acquisition, radar support, and onboard weaponry.

SPECIAL-MISSION: MECICAL EVACUATION
Extraction of wounded combat or civilian elements by way of specialized onboard equipment and available internal volume or external carrying capability.

SPECIAL-MISSION: SEARCH & RESCUE
Ability to locate and extract personnel from areas of potential harm or peril (i.e. downed airmen in the sea).

TRANSPORT
General transport functionality to move supplies/cargo or personnel (including wounded and VIP) over range.

COMMERCIAL AVIATION
Used in roles serving the commercial aviation market, ferrying both passengers and goods over range.

VIP SERVICE
Used in the Very-Important-Person (VIP) passenger transport role, typically with above-average amenities and luxuries as standard.

SPECOPS
Serving Special Forces / Special Operations elements and missions.

TRAINING
Developed ability to be used as a dedicated trainer for student pilots (typically under the supervision of an instructor).

52.9 ft
(16.13 meters)
Length

53.5 ft
(16.30 meters)
Width/Span

17.2 ft
(5.23 meters)
Height

14,110 lb
(6,400 kilograms)
Empty Weight

23,369 lb
(10,600 kilograms)
Maximum Take-Off Weight

+9,259 lb
(+4,200 kg)
Weight Difference

2 x Rolls-Royce Turbomeca RTM322-01/9 turboshaft engines developing 2,230 shaft horsepower each OR 2 x General Electric T700-T6E turboshaft engines of 2,115hp each while driving four-blade main rotor and four-blade tail rotor.
Propulsion

186 mph
(300 kph | 162 knots)
Max Speed

19,685 ft
(6,000 m | 4 miles)
Ceiling

621 miles
(1,000 km | 540 nm)
Range

1,575 ft/min
(480 m/min)
Rate-of-Climb

MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

OPTIONAL:
7.62mm Machine Guns on pintle mountings at door positions supported and special mission versions can carry Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) / Anti-Ship Missiles (ASMs) and other cleared air-to-surface missiles as needed.

2
Hardpoints

X

Hardpoints Key:

Centerline

Wingroot(L)

Wingroot(R)

Wing

Wingtip

Internal

Not Used

NH90 - Base Series Designation.

NH90 NFH ("NATO Frigate Helicopter") - Navalized variant for ASW and ASuW shipborne role.

NH90 TTH ("Tactical Transport Helicopter") - Basic transport model; seating for 20 infantry or medical litters or cargo.

NJ90 "Sea Lion" - German Naval Aviation variant of 2019; based in the NFH model; updated avionics for flying across civilian airspaces.

NH90 "Sea Tiger" - German Naval Aviation variant of 2023.

Hkp14 - Swedish military designation of NH90 TTH model

Hkp14B - Swedish military designation of NH90 NFH model

MRH-90 "Taipan" - Australian military designation of NH90 TTH model.

SH-90A - Italian military designation of NH90 NFH model

UH-90A - Italian military designation of NH90 TTH model

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Images

1 / 3

Image from Airbus Helicopters official marketing material.

2 / 3

Image from the United States Department of Defense DVIDS imagery database.

3 / 3

Image from the United States Department of Defense DVIDS imagery database.

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