NHIndustries to boost NH90 support as parts from Australian MRH90s return to Europe

NHIndustries (NHI) has said it expected to begin receiving parts and subsystems salvaged from decommissioned Australian MRH90 Taipan helicopters by the middle of 2024 as part of efforts by the company to strengthen its logistical support system for other users.

The company has begun the tear down of the 47 Australian helicopters, a version of the NH90, as part of a ‘buy back’ effort which will see spare parts returned to Europe excluding airframes and other larger segments.

Approximately 515 NH90s have been delivered and a further 90 have still to be delivered, with 14 countries operating the 24 variants. The company said it believed there was potential for another 50–100 aircraft to be ordered over the next five years.

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To support its initiative, the company has planned a Software Release 3 (Block 1) in 2028 and a Block 2 release in 2035–40 which will focus on introducing new open system architecture and what was described by the company as “next-generation technologies and capabilities”.

Speaking at Defence iQ’s International Military Helicopter conference in London on 28 February, Axel Aloccio, NH90 programme head and president of NHI, said a major effort was underway to improve logistical support and supply as aircraft numbers grow.

“The most important thing for us is to improve our support and this is the demand which comes from our customers,” Aloccio said. “The input we get is that our customers want to double, perhaps triple the number of flight hours they do by the end of this decade.

“The fleet is generating about 40,000 flight hours a year and the target is to take that to 80,000, perhaps over 100,000. Flight hours is generated by supply chain, so you need parts, then maintenance and then people.

“Supply chain is where we are perhaps investing most,” he added. “We [ordered] last year in excess of €200 million (US£216.2 million) in spare parts which went into our stocks and will be ready at any time to be sold and used. We are also working on increasing the capacity of our supply chain.”

The company has been focused on 50-to-60 parts which have been considered mission critical for customers and where it has perceived capacity to be inadequate, leading to discussions with contractors about how the production line can be doubled and how NHIndustries can help.

NH90s have seen service in Afghanistan. (Photo: NHIndustries)

The company will bring back MRH90 parts from Australia, the most critical and high value parts, and these will form a pool of pre-owned parts as part of an exchange system in a reflection of developments in the commercial world.

“When users feel they have a part failing instead of waiting three-to-five months for this part, we can do an immediate exchange with a pre-owned part within a couple of days,” Aloccio said.

“Countries have agreed with this programme – Italy, France and Germany to name a few – and it will be a game changer. We will be taking more responsibility for supply of parts.”

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