There is no other way to describe the verdict that the Ministry of Defense in Oslo made about Norway’s NH90 fleet in mid-2022: “Regrettably, we have come to the conclusion that the NH90, no matter how many hours our technicians work and how many parts we order , will never be able to meet the requirements of the Norwegian Armed Forces.” Instead of the required 3,900 hours, the transport helicopters were recently in the air for an average of only 700 hours per year. This was the limit for Norway’s government: it took its NH90 completely out of service – and bought the MH-60 Seahawk from Sikorsky as a replacement.
Norway wants its money back
In parallel with the decommissioning of the NH90 fleet, Norway terminated all contracts with manufacturer NHIndustries (NHI) in 2022. The Scandinavians also demanded from NHI “the full refund of all funds and assets” – a total of around five billion Norwegian crowns (490 million euros), plus interest and other costs. For its part, NHI signaled its willingness to negotiate a compromise, but did not want to meet the maximum demand from Oslo and did not see the conditions for full repayment of the costs invested so far as being met. Both parties therefore sought salvation through negotiations and mediation in order to reach an amicable solution. To no avail, the attempts failed.
NH Industries
Norway ordered a total of 14 NH90s in 2001, but only received eight and were never happy with the helicopter.
“mediation failed”
As a consequence, Norway’s government and NHI will soon find themselves in front of a judge. NHI boss Axel Aloccio told journalists in Marseille on October 8 that “the mediation had failed.” “We tried to reach an agreement but couldn’t – now we’re going to court,” said Aloccio. The NHI president did not provide any further details about the dispute. For its part, the Norwegian Defense Material Authority FMV confirmed legal action against NHI and the parent companies of the joint venture operated by Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo and Fokker.
Been in a clinch for a long time
The Norwegian NH90s have all been stored at Bardufoss Air Base since they were officially retired in mid-2022. Oslo ordered 14 helicopters, six NH90s for submarine hunting and eight for the coast guard, in 2001. The delivery target in the contract at the time was 2008, but Norway had only received eight helicopters in a fully operational configuration by 2022.
After carefully examining the case, the Norwegians finally pulled the ripcord. “We have repeatedly tried to resolve the problems related to the NH90 together with NHI, but more than 20 years after the contract was signed, we still do not have helicopters capable of performing the tasks for which they were purchased and without NHI being able to present us with realistic solutions,” said the head of the procurement authority, Gro Jære, in June 2022, justifying the decision to replace the NH90 fleet.
