Article Posted on : - Apr 23, 2010

The NH90 NFH naval helicopter. An NHIndustries photo

VERGIATE (BNS): The Netherlands Navy has received its first NH90NFH military helicopter from NHIndustries.

The multi-role helicopter was officially handed over to the Royal Netherlands Navy during a ceremony here in Italy on Wednesday, NHIndustries said in a statement.

The Royal Netherlands Navy has ordered a total of 20 NH90NFH helicopters.

The NH90 NFH, a variant of the original NH90 helicopter, is primarily designed for autonomous anti-submarine warfare and anti surface warfare missions. It is armed either with two Marte MK2/S anti-ship missiles or two MU 90, MK46 or Stingray torpedoes.

The multi-role aircraft is capable of performing search and rescue, maritime patrol, vertical replenishment, troop transport, medical evacuation along with amphibious support roles. It is also capable of performing embarked operations at day and night and adverse weather conditions.

Due to its weight and dimensions, the deck-lock system, the deck traversing system and the automatic blade and tail folding system, the NFH can operate from small frigates even in high sea states.

NHIndustries has developed two variants of the NH90 helicopter – the Tactical Transport Helicopter (TTH) and the NATO Frigate Helicopter (NFH).

The Dutch, French, Italian, Norwegian and Belgian navies have ordered a total of 111 NH90 NFH naval helicopters.