DTN News - BELGIUM DEFENSE NEWS: Belgium Receives Its First NH90 Naval Helicopter

DTN News - BELGIUM DEFENSE NEWS: Belgium Receives Its First NH90 Naval Helicopter

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources EADS
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - August 1, 2013: Eurocopter today delivered the first NH90 NFH (NATO Frigate Helicopter) to the Belgium Armed Forces, providing an advanced, highly capable and fully-qualified rotary-wing aircraft for this nation’s multi-role mission requirements. In addition to being the no. 1 NH90 NFH received by Belgium, it also is the first built at Eurocopter’s Donauwörth, Germany industrial site – demonstrating this facility’s capability to assemble and deliver these new-generation twin-engine helicopters.

Belgium will become the fifth country to put the European-developed NH90 NFH version into service, joining France, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway. The aircraft delivered today is rated at Full Operational Capability (FOC), ensuring its aptitude for the full range of Belgium naval missions – such as Search and Rescue (SAR) or military missions at sea.

Training of Belgium Navy flight and maintenance crews on the NH90 NFH will begin next month, with operations to be initiated in 2014 using its first two helicopters. Belgium has ordered eight NH90s in total, including four of NFH naval versions. The NH90 NFH is replacing the Belgium Navy’s Sea King helicopters. Its configuration is identical to the Dutch NH90 NFH version.

“The NH90 NFH is operationally proven, and Belgium will benefit from this helicopter’s already validated performance, reliability and versatility,” said Michel Polychroniadis, Director of the NH90 Programme at Eurocopter. “The Belgium acceptance teams and flight crews have been impressed by the NH90 NFH’s flight stability and its capabilities, providing a preview of the operational enhancements that will be provided for the country’s army.”

Military services currently operating the NH90 NFH have successfully utilized the helicopters in rescue, transport and surveillance missions. As an example, more than 50 persons have been rescued to date by French Navy NH90 NFH rotorcraft, while the Netherlands recently deployed its NATO Frigate Helicopters to the Horn of Africa in support of the European Union’s Atalanta naval operation.

The NH90 is the most successful helicopter program in Europe, boasting 529 firm orders from 14 different countries. A total of 154 NH90s has been delivered. The NH90 NFH version alone has accumulated 111 bookings.

Management of the NH90 program is handled by the NHIndustries consortium, which is owned by Eurocopter (62.5%), AgustaWestland (32%), and Stork Fokker (5.5%).

About Eurocopter

Established in 1992, the Franco-German-Spanish Eurocopter Group is a division of EADS, a world leader in aerospace and defense-related services. The Eurocopter Group employs approximately 22,000 people. In 2012, Eurocopter confirmed its position as the world’s No. 1 helicopter manufacturer with a turnover of 6.3 billion Euros, orders for 469 new helicopters and a 44 percent market share in the civil and parapublic sectors. Overall, the Group’s helicopters account for 33 percent of the worldwide civil and parapublic fleet. Eurocopter’s strong international presence is ensured by its subsidiaries and participations in 21 countries. Eurocopter’s worldwide network of service centers, training facilities, distributors and certified agents supports more than 2,900 customers. There are currently more than 11,780 Eurocopter helicopters in service in 148 countries. Eurocopter offers the most comprehensive civil and military helicopter range in the world and is fully committed to safety as the most important aspect of its business.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources EADS
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DTN News - GERMANY DEFENSE NEWS: Germany Said To Cancel Billions In Military Plane Orders

DTN News - GERMANY DEFENSE NEWS: Germany Said To Cancel Billions In Military Plane Orders

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Nicola Clark - The New York Times

NSI News Source Info) KOTTAKKAL, Kerala, India - October 22, 2011: EADS, the parent company of Airbus, is bracing for months of thorny negotiations with Germany as the country seeks to cancel billions of dollars’ worth of orders for military aircraft in an effort to cut its defense budget.

Thomas de Maizière, the German defense minister, is expected to present the program of radical cuts to the government’s budget committee on Oct. 26. But according to a confidential document that has been leaked to news organizations in recent days, the ministry hopes to sharply reduce its commitments to purchase a range of flying hardware, including A400M transporters, Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, as well as NH-90 transport and Tiger attack helicopters.

“This is another sad chapter in the saga of shrinking European budgets — with major industrial and political implications,” said Alexandra Ashbourne, an aerospace and defense industry consultant in London. “This is going to be very difficult for the industry to absorb, on the one hand, while on the other you will see the British, the Spanish and everyone else once again questioning Germany’s commitment to European defense.”

Less than two years after European governments agreed to a complex rescue program for the long-delayed four-engine turboprop A400M, Germany, the largest customer for the plane, now wants to buy 40 instead of 53 of the airlifters, said a government official, who confirmed the figures cited in the document but declined to be identified because the information was classified.

That would bring Germany’s commitment to the A400M below that of France, which has ordered 50. Germany had originally agreed to buy 60 A400Ms in 2003, but that order was reduced in 2009 as part of an arduously negotiated bailout in which seven NATO governments agreed to a hefty price increase to provide an additional €1.5 billion, or $2.1 billion, in financing to EADS, whose full name is European Aeronautic Defense & Space.

The cuts are part of an effort by Germany to reduce its defense budget by 20 percent. Berlin also wants to reduce its order for Typhoon fighters to 140 instead of 177, while it would like to take delivery of 80 instead of 122 NH-90 helicopters, and only 40 Tigers, half of an original order for 80.

Spokesmen for EADS and the German Defense Ministry declined to discuss the proposed cuts before Mr. de Maizière presented his proposals next week.

But Lt. Col. Holger Neumann, a Defense Ministry spokesman, conceded that there would be deep cuts and said that negotiations with EADS and its partners would be difficult.

“We have to find solutions on a consensus basis, especially concerning those projects under contract,” Colonel Neumann said. “It is not something that we can change unilaterally.”

The A400M is built by the military division of Airbus, while the Typhoon is made by a multinational consortium that includes EADS, BAE Systems of Britain and Finmeccanica of Italy. The NH-90 and the Tiger are products of EADS’s Eurocopter division.

The procurement cuts are part of a broader German effort to streamline its defense bureaucracy, dramatically reducing the size of its active-duty forces to around 185,000 from 220,000 and abolishing compulsory military service, which ended this year.

But analysts noted that canceling the orders could involve costly penalty payments for Berlin unless it managed to find alternative buyers for the equipment it no longer wants. If those buyers end up outside Europe, they added, that would eat into the company’s future export sales — considered vital to recouping research and development costs.

The A400M, for example, has yet to catch on outside Europe, with just one foreign customer, Malaysia, holding a contract for four planes.

South Africa canceled an order for eight planes in 2009, though both sides are still in discussions about possibly reviving that deal at a later date.

EADS has already written down more than €2.4 billion in cost overruns for the A400M. The first of the planes are expected to be delivered in 2014.

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Nicola Clark - The New York Times

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DTN News: The Royal Air Force Of Oman Takes Delivery Of Its First NH90 Helicopter

DTN News: The Royal Air Force Of Oman Takes Delivery Of Its First NH90 Helicopter

Source: DTN News / NH Industries Dt. June 29, 2010

(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 30, 2010: NHIndustries is pleased to announce the delivery on time of the first batch of two NH90.multipurpose helicopters ordered by the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO).

The Certificate of Transfer of both helicopters occurred on June 23 on the Royal Air Force of Oman base of MUSANA after a very demanding 2 months evaluation period in severe operational conditions.

This initial delivery which marks the first delivery of an NH90 in the middle east will be followed ahead of schedule, in July, by the acceptance process of the second batch of NH90.

These helicopters are supported by an integrated NHI/ RAFO maintenance team who will operate for the 1st time in the NH90 world a specific maintenance tool: GLIMS (Ground Logistic Information Management System). The RAFO have up to now ordered 20 NH90 TTH in order to replace its fleet of ageing AB205A/206/212/214.The NH90 TTH chosen by Oman is to date one of the most advanced and versatile version of the NH90.

This NH90 fleet will cover a wide spectrum of missions from the VIP transport, to troop transport and Search and Rescue missions round the clock in the most demanding conditions.

This new generation helicopter combines a full composite airframe, an outstanding fly by wire control system, with two powerful engines and an integrated mission system in order to offer its customers the best level of performance of its class.

In addition, NHIndustries and its partner companies ensure the training of the crews and the support of the Omani fleet in order to guarantee the highest level of availability. The introduction of such an advanced transport helicopter in the middle east attracts the attention of several countries in the region. The NH90 is the most successful European helicopter programme ever. A total of 529 firm orders have been placed by 19 armed forces in 14 countries including France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, The Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Greece, Spain and Belgium in Europe, as well as Australia, Oman and New Zealand overseas and 49 NH90 helicopters are already in service today.

*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com