The Norwegian Armed Forces are fed up with the problems of the NHI NH-90 helicopters and have decided to retire them prematurely. Furthermore, the Norwegian Government wants a full refund of the US$500 million it invested in the aircraft. 

Norway is the second country to give up the NH-90s. In December, after many complaints about the capacity, performance and availability of the helicopter, Australia announced that it will retire the aircraft and acquire UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

The Ministry of Defense acquired 14 NH-90s. Thirteen have already been delivered, but the folder states that only eight arrived in a fully operational configuration. In addition, the fleet should fly 3.900 hours a year, but the average is just 700 hours a year. 

Bjørn Arild Gram, Minister of Defense, said on Friday (10) that the NH-90s spend more time in the workshops than flying. Gram also stated that no investment would allow the NH90 to meet the country's requirements.

“It is a serious decision, but no matter how many hours the personnel work and no matter how many parts we order, the NH90 will not be able to meet the needs of the armed forces”, he says.

The NH-90 contract was signed in 2001, covering eight helicopters for the Coast Guard and six for the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) operating on Navy frigates. The delivery of the aircraft should be completed by 2008, something that did not happen.

The NH-90s were purchased to replace Westland Super Lynx helicopters in anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, utility transport and other missions, but even in those operations the model is not being used, said Gro Jære, director general of the Norwegian Material Agency. of Defense. 

Jære cites four main reasons for terminating the NH-90 contract: severe delays in delivering the helicopters, reliability, maintenance issues and component obsolescence.

Em release, the NHIndustries consortium, led by Airbus, said it was “extremely disappointed” with the decision of Norway and "refutes the allegations made against the NH90 as well as the company". The company also questioned whether Norway could legally scrap the NH90 deal, but did not explicitly threaten legal action. 

NHI further states that it was not offered the possibility to discuss a proposal to improve the availability of the NH90 in Norway or to meet the country's requirements prior to contract termination. 

Reliability issues continue to plague helicopters, says Jære. Even in its final configuration, the failure rate per flight hour is 40 times higher. Combined with ongoing maintenance issues, this often leaves only one helicopter available, sometimes none at all. 

In addition, certain key components, notably those related to the NH90's anti-submarine warfare capability, have also become obsolete, she says, further stating that NHI is unable to find suitable replacements.

“We have repeatedly tried to resolve issues in collaboration with the supplier, but more than 20 years after the contract was awarded, we are still without helicopters that can do the job they were purchased to do and without the supplier being able to come up with realistic solutions to the problems” , Jære.

With the troubled NH-90s retired, Norway will now begin the selection process for a new marine helicopter, prioritizing Coast Guard requirements.

“Sea helicopters are something that Norway must have and it is therefore important that we start quickly with the work to fill the gap created by the NH90”, says Minister Gram. “We will look at various alternatives to meet operational needs, but we must be prepared for the fact that there is no easy solution.”

Despite the Canberra and Oslo decisions, the NH-90 is still in operation in France, Belgium, Sweden, Holland, Qatar, Greece, Finland, Italy, Spain, Oman and New Zealand.