NHIndustries recently said Norway preselected the NH90 helicopter for its ongoing Norwegian All Weather Search And Rescue Helicopter (NAWSARH) competition aimed at replacing Search and Rescue helicopters operated by the RnoAF 330th Squadron.
In mid-February, the Norwegian Ministry of Justice said Sikorsky [UTX] International Operations, NHIndustries, Agusta Westland Ltd., and Eurocopter SAS passed the prequalification process for the program.
“We are proud and honored to have been pre-selected by the Norwegian Ministry of Justice for the NAWSARH competition, we strongly believe the NH90, embedding state of the art technologies is providing the operators the best solution to perform the future Search and Rescue missions in the most demanding conditions,” said Michel Polychroniadis head of NHIndustries.
The NHIndustries industrial consortium is comprised of Finmeccanica’s AgustaWestland with 32 percent, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.’s (EADS) Eurocopter with 62.5 percent, and Fokker Aerostructures with 5.5 percent.
The NH90 offered to Norway for the NAWSARH competition is able to operate in the harshest weather conditions to perform search and rescue, air ambulance, disaster relief and special operations support missions.
This new generation helicopter will be equipped with state of the art sensors for a good situational awareness to quickly locate and rescue people needing immediate assistance.
The wide, unobstructed cabin of the NH90 will be fitted with a complete medical care suite in order to take care of injured persons in flight.
The NH90 is particularly suited to operate in the most demanding conditions like those encountered in Norway since it features a full composite corrosion free airframe, redundant flyby wire controls for increased flight safety along with state of the art sensors and communications systems, the company said in a statement. The critical parts of the helicopter such as the rotor blades, and air intakes are protected to operate in icing conditions.
“NHI is committed to provide the Norwegian MoJ with the best helicopter in terms of performance and safety,” said Julien Negrel, business director of NHI.
The NH90 already had the opportunity to demonstrate its outstanding SAR capabilities in France when the French Navy rescued 19 people aboard the disabled ship TK Bremen off the coast of France’s region of Brittany.
The NH90 is the most successful European helicopter program ever, the company statement said. Firm orders have been placed by 14 countries. The NH90 program is managed by the NATO Helicopter Management Agency (NAHEMA) representing France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Portugal, and by the NHIndustries.