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has been, to some extent, future proofed.
Current naval operators of the NH-90
include France (16 delivered, eleven on
order) and Italy (19 delivered, 27 on order).
Final Deliveries
In December 2016, the Republic of Korea’s
government accepted the final four of
eight AgustaWestland/Leonardo AW-159
Wildcat aircraft. Although the Republic
of Korea Navy (ROKN) will use these
principally as anti-submarine warfare
aircraft, their Selex/Leonardo Seaspray-
7000E X-band (8.5 gigahertz/GHz to
10.68GHz) airborne surveillance radar
can be used to search over sea, land and
air. For anti-submarine missions the
AW-159 can use the Thales Compact
FLASH Sonics low-frequency, long-
range dipping sonar system. Facing the
People’s Republic of China’s maritime and
territorial claims over the South China Sea
(please see this issue’s Naval Directory for
more information on these disputes), the
Philippines government has also ordered
two similarly-equipped AW-159s for its
own navy. These will be delivered in 2018,
according to media reports.
Meanwhile, during September
2016, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN)
purchase, which followed the Norwegian
accident, could now be reversed.
In a company press release
announcing the news, Guillaume
Faury, chief executive officer of Airbus
Helicopters said that while: “the Super
Puma has served Singapore well for the
last 30 years...the addition of the H-225M
to the RSAF (Republic of Singapore Air
Force) fleet will bring a step change in
capabilities.” The current AS-332 fleet
is used for a wide variety of operations
including troop transport, civil assistance
and search and rescue missions, as well
as some maritime deployments although
the RSAF’s Sikorsky S-70B naval support
helicopters perform frigate-based anti-
submarine and anti-surface warfare.
Another aircraft from the Airbus
Helicopters stable, the NH Industries
(a joint venture between Airbus
Helicopters, AgustaWestland and Fokker
Aerostructures) NH-90 Sea Lion naval
support helicopter, also made news
recently when the first variant conducted
its first flight from Airbus Helicopters’
facility in Donauwörth, southern Germany.
The German Navy requires 18 NH-90 Sea
Lions (the local designation for the NH-
90NFH naval support helicopter) and is
expecting to start taking delivery of these
helicopters during the second half of 2019
with the final aircraft arriving before 2022,
according to Airbus. The German Navy
plans for the NH-90 is to begin replacing its
21 AgustaWestland Sea King Mk.41 naval
support helicopters in the second half of
2019 with all 18 units expected to be in the
fleet by 2022. As well as conducting land-
based SAR missions, they will operate from
the navy’s ‘Berlin’ class replenishment
ships: “The navy is looking forward, as
the first customer, to be receiving the NH-
90 Sea Lion on time by the end of 2019,”
said Vice Admiral Andreas Krause, chief
of the German Navy, stated in an Airbus
Helicopters press release.
The German Navy’s NH-90 Sea
Lion represents one of the 23 different
versions of the NH-90 that NH Industries
has developed. The decision to procure
several distinct variants of the aircraft was
the root cause of the well documented
delays in aircraft deliveries. Moreover,
this was a likely cause of the Singaporean
government’s decision to opt for the
H-225M, as both aircraft were in the
competition to replace the AS-332s (see
above). Nevertheless, the German Navy is
now set to receive a rotary capability that
Schiebel
An S-100 equipped with an L3 WESCAM
MX-10 optronics system, together with
a Leonardo/Selex PicoSAR airborne
surveillance radar and SAGE electronic
surveillance system is seen here undergoing
testing with the RAN.
An S-100 equipped with an L3 WESCAM
MX-10 optronics system, together with
a Leonardo/Selex PicoSAR airborne
surveillance radar and SAGE electronic
surveillance system is seen here undergoing
testing with the RAN.