Norway terminates NH90 helicopters contract with French firm, demands full refund

On Friday, in a press release, Norway, a NATO member, announced to scrape off a twenty years old NH90 helicopter contract finally. For more than two decades, Norway was importing NH90 helicopters from a France-based manufacturer and was bound by an agreement.
There are many reasons for the termination of the contract, like delay in delivery, slow maintenance, eros, etc.
In the recent contract, the Norway government ordered fourteen maritime aircraft but terminated the contract today. There are many reasons for this contract cancellation, and the main reason is the lack of fulfilment of operational costs. The Norway defence minister said at a conference that the step is a tough decision taken by Norway.

The Norway government had ordered 14 NH90 helicopters and has decided to return all the NH90 helicopters received until now. According to Bjørn Arild Gram, Norway’s Defence Minister, they have paid 5 billion kroner so far for the helicopters and expect to be refunded entirely. Five billion kroner estimate to be approximately $525 million.

Bjørn Arild Gram said in a public statement that after thinking a lot and consulting with experts, Norway had reached the conclusion that no matter how many hours their workers work around the clock or how many parts of the NH90 helicopters are ordered; the NH90 helicopters imported from France will always fail to meet the operational requirements of the Norwegian Armed Forces.

In 2001, fourteen helicopters were ordered by Norway for the coast guard and anti-submarine warfare duties as per the Norwegian Armed Forces. These 14 aircraft were promised to be delivered by 2008’s end. However, till now, only eight ready-to-operate NH90 helicopters have been provided by the manufacturer.

An officer of the Norwegian Armed Forces said that the fleet is currently required to provide annual flying hours of 3,900. However, the NH90 helicopters have managed to score 700 flight hours.

Bjørn Arild Gram said that soon Norway would look for any alternate maritime aircraft. In February, the Defense Ministry of Norway conducted an inclusive review of the NH90 helicopters. It concluded that despite of the significant modifications made to the aircraft, the availability and performance of the NH90 helicopters could never live up to the standards of Norway’s Armed Forces.

NHIndustries are not satisfied with Norway’s decision and publicly denied all the allegations made against their aircraft.


What are the NH90 helicopters?

• NH90 helicopter is a medium-size military helicopter with multi-role and twin-engine.
• NH90 helicopters were developed in the mid-1990s by a France-based manufacturer name NH Industries.
• NHIndustries emerged as a partnership between three European companies named Fokker Technologies, Leonardo Helicopters and Airbus Helicopters based in Aix-en-Provence, France.
• The NH90 helicopters weigh around 6400 kgs and have a top speed of 300km/hr.
• Many countries use this aircraft.
• NH90 helicopters are fit to fulfil the role of modern maritime and land operations.

How did NHIndusries react to the NH90 helicopter’s contract termination?
When NHIndustries was asked to speak on this matter, they said that they were incredibly disappointed with Norway’s sudden decision. They also refused to accept the allegations made against their NH90 helicopters and the company. NHIndustries told that they were not provided with any prior information or given any time to re-discuss the problems regarding the NH90 helicopters. Norway’s cancellation of the contract is legally groundless and has no sense.