NH90

The European NH90 medium twin-engine multi-role helicopter from NHIndustries, which is owned by Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo and Fokker Aerostructures, was developed in response to a request from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for a combat helicopter capable of operating in a maritime environment. Although NH90 is smaller in size compared to the legendary Black Hawk, it can accommodate more seated soldiers and has more powerful engines than its American counterpart.

The NH90 is the first production helicopter to be equipped with a fly-by-wire flight control system. This means that it no longer uses wires or cables to control the aircraft, but rather electrical signals. Although customers usually specifically equip and modify NH90 helicopters to their preferences, there are two main variants: the Tactical Transport Helicopter (TTH), which is used for military use, and the NATO Naval Frigate Helicopter (NFH). In addition to mission use, the range of these variants differs, with the NFH version having 200 km more range than the TTH.

The NH90 can be equipped with two Rolls-Royce Turbomeca RTM322 turboshaft engines rated at 2x 1,802 kW or two General Electric CT7 turboshaft engines rated at 2x 1,845 kW. More than 500 helicopters have already been delivered to 18 countries and together the NH90s have flown more than 377,000 hours. They can be found in the arsenals of various NATO countries such as Germany, France, Greece and Italy, but the machines have also been exported outside Europe and are also in service in Qatar, Oman and New Zealand.

► Aviantion Archive - NH90