NHIndustries to upgrade New Zealand NH90 fleet
The New Zealand government has awarded a contract to helicopter manufacturer NHIndustries for upgrades to its NH90 rotorcraft fleet
The contract will deliver new navigation systems and better encrypted radios for the NH90 fleet, in line with updated requirements from the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand.
The work is part of the New Zealand Ministry of Defence’s Operational and Regulatory Aviation Compliance Sustainment (ORACS) project, and is due for completion by 2030.
NHIndustries will provide a range of hardware and software upgrades to the aircraft, with all hardware modifications being done locally in New Zealand.
The NH90 is a common NATO-standard helicopter type used by militaries around the world for operations such as troop transport, search and rescue (SAR), and anti-submarine warfare (ASW).
“New Zealand is the first country which uses the NH90 helicopter that will undertake the work to retrofit the navigation system and upgrade the secure communication system,” said Frank Dyer, Integrated Project Team Leader at the Ministry of Defence. “We’ll also be working with subcontractor Airbus Australia Pacific (AAP), who will test and qualify the upgrade using the NH90 software test rig located in Brisbane, Australia.”
The New Zealand Ministry of Defence also ordered a fleet of drones for use by the country’s military in December last year.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at the Voyageur Group. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.