Airbus and Kongsberg of Norway have signed a long-term strategic settlement to collaborate over help and providers for the Norwegian Armed Forces. Below the phrases of a Memorandum of Understanding between Airbus Helicopters, Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace, and Kongsberg Aviation Upkeep Providers, the businesses will work to strengthen the deployment of native upkeep capabilities with the target to optimize the supply of the NH90 helicopter.
EVP of Kongsberg Aerostructures & MRO, Mr Terje Bråthen, says: “Kongsberg has a confirmed functionality in manufacturing, manufacturing, restore and overhaul exercise for the aerospace trade. Kongsberg can also be a strategic accomplice to the Norwegian Armed Forces for sustainment and logistics. We’re wanting ahead to our enhanced cooperation with Airbus with the general objective of elevated operational functionality for NH90 customers.”
Commercial
Airbus Helicopters Regional Director Industrial Cooperation, Damien Lamy mentioned: “This settlement is the start of an bold partnership with Kongsberg which can strengthen Norway’s autonomy and sovereign help functionality on this specialised area.”
As an preliminary exercise, Airbus is creating and qualifying Kongsberg’s amenities to supply deep upkeep of the NH90 tail gearboxes for the Norwegian fleet and to deliver enterprise alternatives for the Nordics the place a complete of 52 NH90s are operated by Norway, Sweden and Finland. The transfer will place Kongsberg as prime contractor for this help contract and the primary entity outdoors Airbus to be certified for the work. In subsequent steps, Airbus and Kongsberg have recognized additional paths to use a spread of extra cooperation alternatives with the target of enhancing Norway’s help provision.
The NHIndustries NH90 is a medium-sized, twin-engine, multi-role army helicopter. The NH90 was developed and is manufactured by NHIndustries, a collaborative firm owned by Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo (previously AgustaWestland) and Fokker Aerostructures. The primary prototype performed its maiden flight in December 1995; the sort first entered operational service in 2007. The NH90 is the primary manufacturing helicopter to function completely fly-by-wire flight controls. There are two principal variants, the Tactical Transport Helicopter (TTH) for military use and the navalised NATO Frigate Helicopter (NFH); every buyer sometimes has numerous alterations and customisations made to their very own NH90 fleets, akin to completely different weapons, sensors, and cabin preparations, to fulfill their very own particular necessities.
