Qatar Emiri Air Force celebrates 2,500 flight hours with NH90

The Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) is one of the NH90 end users that operates both the TTH (Tactical Troop Transport Helicopter) and the NFH (NATO Frigate Helicopter) versions of the NH90 helicopter for land and naval operations. The aircraft’s main missions include troop transport and utility, search and rescue, and surveillance.

Since the first delivery in 2018, the QEAF has received 18 helicopters out of a total of 28 helicopters ordered, nine TTH helicopters built at the assembly line of Marignane (Airbus) and nine NFH helicopters built at the final assembly line of Venice (Leonardo).

Leonardo is the prime contractor for the overall program and is also responsible for the final assembly and delivery of the NH90 NFH helicopters from its production facility in Tessera, Venice. Leonardo also provides onsite support to the air force, including engineers, technicians, logistics specialists, and instructors.

The company has also built a training center located at Doha Air Base, which includes two full flight simulators (FFS) in naval and land versions, developed in collaboration with CAE, as well a variety of other systems covering the flight and the mission training requirements.

Since entry to service in June 2023, close to 1,700 hours have been flown on the FFS in cooperation with the military instructors of the Italian armed forces.