The government has decided to terminate the contract and end the phasing in of the NH90 helicopters that were ordered over 20 years ago. This is confirmed by Minister of Defense Bjørn Arild Gram (Sp) at a press conference on Friday. Norway has received 13 of 14 ordered helicopters. At the same time, considerable work and costs remain associated with upgrading these so that they have full operational capacity. Minister of Defense Bjørn Arild Gram (Sp) and Chief of Defense Erik Kristoffersen during the Ministry of Defense, Defense Materiel and the Armed Forces’ press conference on helicopters. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB Thorough assessment – We have carried out a thorough assessment of whether it is possible to get a real operational benefit with NH90 by implementing further measures from the defense sector. The conclusion is negative. The contract is terminated retroactively. Gram says that there are thorough assessments of operativeness, finances and the legal behind the decision. – In a lifetime perspective, an investment in an alternative helicopter capacity will probably be cheaper than continuing NH90, Gram says. The Armed Forces supports the government’s decision: – We have simply got a helicopter that does not work as it should, says Chief of Defense Eirik Kristoffersen. – This does not work But the helicopter supplier NHIndustries believes Norway can not terminate the agreement. – NHIndustries is extremely disappointed with the decision from the Norwegian Ministry of Defense, and rejects the accusations against NH90 and the company, the company writes in a statement. NHIndustries believes that Norway’s termination of the helicopter contract is “legally unfounded”. They further write that they were not given the opportunity to discuss a proposal to improve NH90 availability in Norway, as well as address special Norwegian requirements. “With 13 of 14 helicopters delivered and the fourteenth ready for approval, we were close to completing the bulk of the original contract,” the statement said. Initiates investigation The defense authorities will investigate a new solution. Among other things, the government will consider renting helicopters. It will normally take at least five years to put in place alternative helicopters. But the government says it will do everything it can to make this happen even faster. Preferably in collaboration with close allies. The Coast Guard will be given priority first, as it will have new vessels towards the end of the year. A temporary strengthening of the rescue helicopter service to compensate for the lack of helicopters in the Coast Guard may be a possible solution. 20 years of overtime Former Minister of Defense Frank Bakke-Jensen (H) has described the purchase of the helicopters as a “disaster project”. In 2001, Norway ordered 14 NH90 military helicopters. They were to be used on coastguard ships and frigates in the Norwegian Navy. The first helicopter was to arrive in 2005. By 2008, everyone was to be in place. But it was not until 2011 that the first NH90 came to Norway. Only in 2017 did the first of them get full operational capacity. In February this year, six helicopters were only in the “preliminary version”. We will not have full operational capacity on all helicopters until 2025, the Armed Forces estimated. The Office of the Auditor General concluded in 2018 that the Armed Forces and taxpayers had spent NOK 8 billion on something that had not yet been delivered. NH 90 NH90 is a twin-engine helicopter, developed by Italian NHIndustries (owned by Eurocopter, Augusta Westland and Stork Fokker. The Norwegian Ministry of Defense decided in 2001 to acquire 14 NH90 helicopters. Eight of these will replace six of the Coast Guard’s Westland Lynx helicopters Six will be delivered to the new frigates to the Norwegian Navy. The Coast Guard’s helicopters will be subject to 139 Air Force and 337 Squadron. The helicopters should actually have been delivered in the period 2005 – 2008, but are significantly delayed by the supplier. machines, will be phased in in 2022. Norwegian procurement costs were initially NOK 5.7 billion. Source: The Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Defense, news, Wikipedia Little confidence in the supplier then Minister of Defense Odd Roger Enoksen (Sp) in February, Enoksen then considered terminating the contract with the NH90 helicopters – The fact is that we now have little t illit to the supplier NHIndustries, he said. He therefore asked the Ministry of Defense to start work on looking at maritime helicopters for the Armed Forces again, wrote Aftenposten. Photo of the then Minister of Defense Odd Roger Enoksen (Sp), taken February 20, 2022 Photo: news Skeptical Association Leader of the Norwegian Officers and Specialists Association, Torbjørn Bongo, said in February that he was skeptical about terminating the contract for the NH90 helicopter. He told news that the problems with the Italian helicopter type are not just related to the supplier. The coordination between all agencies in the defense has also created problems for the operation of the helicopters, he said. Here, one of the new NH90 helicopters takes off from KV “Senja” during naval operations. Considered terminating the contract Norway has also previously considered terminating the contract, including in 2008. But then it was estimated to be as expensive to keep the contract as to terminate it. This winter, Enoksen thought that it was time again to consider and terminate the contract. – It will be neither easy nor free. But this is an expression of the end of patience. – Weak planning of such a large project with so many actors, partial deliveries and a great need for coordination, has been an important reason for the weak progress, said Auditor General Per-Kristian Foss (in the middle) in 2018. Photo: Andreas Trygstad Nilsen / news Has not followed up well enough According to a survey by the Office of the Auditor General in 2018, the Armed Forces must take its share of responsibility. “The supplier has a large part of the responsibility for the delays, but the Ministry of Defense, Defense Materiel and the Armed Forces have not followed up the procurement well enough,” the Office of the Auditor General wrote. But at the press conference on Friday, both the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Defense praise all Norwegian personnel who have been involved in the procurement of the NH90 helicopters. These are the Office of the Auditor General’s main findings The Storting’s preconditions for the acquisition of NH90 and the helicopters’ operational capability have not been met. The status of the NH90 maritime helicopter is that it is severely delayed, has fewer flight hours than expected, has a high maintenance need and high operating costs: large delays in procurement and phasing in, very few flight hours, low availability and very limited operational activities, large maintenance needs and high operating costs The Storting has been limited. Key reasons for the delays can be found both at the supplier and on the Norwegian side: The supplier NHI has a significant part of the responsibility for the delays and changes in deliveries. Important prerequisites for the procurement have not been followed up well enough. The contract with the supplier has significant weaknesses. There have been shortcomings in the planning and insufficient staffing in the Air Force and FLO / FMA. There has been weak management and inefficient coordination in the phasing in of NH90. Norway’s 40-year-old rescue helicopters are outdated, old and are more and more often on the ground when people need help. But the Sea King will be our most important rescue resource for many more years. Only in 2020 are new rescue helicopters in place. Then the purchase has taken 25 years. Focus follows the process from report to report, while it is about life at sea.
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The Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces hold a press conference on helicopters – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
