According to a press release by Leonardo company on January 3, the Qatar Emiri Air Force NH90 programme marked a major milestone with the first appearance of the Tactical Transport Helicopter (TTH) and NATO Frigate Helicopter (NFH) variants during Qatar’s national day on December 18.
The first NH90 TTH was delivered to Qatar from Airbus Helicopters facility in Marignane, France, on December 11 last year. Leonardo made the naval, NFH variant available for display by shipping the helicopter from the company’s facility in Venice Tessera, Italy. This is ahead of its final delivery date, which is scheduled in the upcoming months.
Qatar is due to receive 16 NH90 TTHs for land operations and 12 NH90 NFHs for naval missions. Including in the programme is comprehensive support, associated infrastructure, maintenance and a training services package. Numbers of aircraft have the potential to increase by six with a mixture of TTH and NFH variants added to the programme over the contract period.
Leonardo is the prime contractor for the whole Qatar NH90 programme and will provide all 12 NFH variants from its facility in Italy. Leonardo is also supplying simulators, training, and maintenance support for both aircrew and maintenance staff.
Airbus helicopters are responsible for the final assembly and delivery of the 16 TTH land variants of which are scheduled to continue through to 2025.
