AirForces Monthly – September 2019

http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #378 September 2019 // 47

helicopters, with the remaining five new

Step B aircraft to be delivered by the end

of 2019. The latest was received in May.

We currently have five NH90s at Bardufoss,

including Step A aircraft returned from retrofit.

Retrofit of the Step A aircraft platforms to

Step B standard will therefore run alongside

continued deliveries of new helicopters

through to the declaration of the aircraft’s

FOC, which is now expected in 2022.

“We currently have NH90s serving in northern

Norway completing coast guard missions; our

aircrew consider it phenomenal in this role. Our

ASW has traditionally been the responsibility of

our P-3 Orion fleet [six aircraft; two P-3N and

four P-3C variants serving with 333 Skvadron

at Andøya] but going forward, our NH90s will

perform joint operations. Our rotary ASW work

commences this summer.

The helicopter and

its systems work; the

issue for us now is

having sufficient aircraft.”

Lieutenant Colonel Erik Mikkelsen, Head

of Operations 139 Air Wing and a pilot,

provided further insight into Norway’s NH90

experiences: “NH90 will support the coast

guard embarked aboard their larger vessels

sailing in Norwegian waters. These missions

are concentrated in our northern waters,

including the Svalbard archipelago. The

NH90 will also provide capabilities as a SAR

asset including a robust medevac [medical

evacuation] capability. Its main mission is in

the fisheries protection role; the helicopter’s

sensors are used to confirm fishing activity

and the helicopter is used to place inspectors

aboard fishing vessels using the rescue

hoist. The NH90 now has the capability to

support the coast guard with significantly

larger capacity. The NH90’s new role within

the Norwegian armed forces is ASW; it will

become an integrated component of the

Nansen-class frigates’ warfare capability.

With its sensors and weapons, it will be able

to support

the combat ship as a sensor platform as

well as an effector. This capability will be

developed during the next years in close

collaboration with other NATO nations.”

The Royal Navy’s international ASW

reputation is such that Col Stueland confirmed

Norway’s aspiration to work with its Merlin

HM2s, based at RNAS Culdrose, Cornwall.

AFM understands that Norway’s NH90s

will adopt some similar ASW equipment

components, including the Thales FLASH

active dipping sonar and Thales Common

Acoustics Processor, crew concept and

tactics. In June, two Royal Navy Merlin HM2s

deployed to Bergen to undertake ASW training.

With fleet operational hours increasing and

sufficient Step B standard

aircraft now in place to start

ASW training, it’s likely that

naval shipborne testing will

begin soon. This is a pre-

requisite to expanding and

projecting ASW

capability.

The future

The introduction of the

F-35A into Norway’s inventory is central to

the armed forces’ development and is rapidly

gathering pace. Having made the decision

to acquire the F-35A in 2008, Norway’s

parliament has, so far, approved the purchase

of 22 of the planned 52 aircraft. In service,

Two-seat F-16BM serial 305 poses for the camera. The Fighting Falcon force has now been reduced to

a single frontline unit – 331 Skvadron. Sister unit 338 Skvadron ceased operations on April 1, when its

seven remaining F-16s fl ew from Ørland to Bodø. Eventually, 338 will re-form as an F-35A unit. Morten

Hanche/Luftforsvaret/Forsvaret

Right: Hunter becomes the hunted: the view of

a Royal Navy Merlin HM2 from the Norwegian

submarine KNM ‘Utsira’ during the recent German

naval exercise Grüner Aal. A pair of Merlin HM2s

deployed to Bergen to undertake ASW training this

summer, and further UK/Norway ASW co-operation

is planned. Hedvig Antoinette Halgunset/Forsvaret

N ATO

70

44-48 NorwayRestructures AFM Sep2019.indd 47 8/5/2019 9:47:19 AM