Bundeswehr Orders 31 NH90 Helicopters for Shipborne Operations

The German Bundeswehr has ordered 31 NH90 helicopters, to be known as Sea Tiger, for the German Navy’s shipborne operations. Nathalie  Tarnaud-Laude, President of NH90 Helicopter Industries (NHI) and Giorgio Gomma, General  Manager of the NATO Helicopter Management Agency (NAHEMA), on behalf of the Federal  Office for Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support of the German Armed  Forces (BAAINBw) signed the contract on 26 November. The helicopters will replace the  German Navy’s Sea Lynx Mk88A fleet which entered into service in 1981. The Bundeswehr  has already ordered 18 NH90 Sea Lion naval transport helicopters, seven of which have  already been delivered.

"With the Sea Lion and Sea Tiger, the German Navy will have state-of-the-art, high performance helicopters and can benefit from the advantages of a harmonized fleet," said  Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters. “We look forward to working, together with our  partners, to deliver the unique naval capabilities that the NH90 NFH has to offer as early as  2025,” he added.

The widespread use of the NH90 TTH by the German Army and the NH90 NFH by the  German Navy enables considerable synergies in terms of logistics and training. Naval flight  crews and technical staff have already been undergoing basic NH90 training together with  Army’s NH90 crews since the introduction of the Sea Lion.

Both the Sea Tiger and the Sea Lion are derivatives of the NH90 NFH. The Sea Tiger is  based on the Sea Lion configuration, enhanced by mission capabilities and equipment in  order to carry out their specific tasks. In addition to reconnaissance and transport, the  shipborne Sea Tigers missions include engaging targets above and below the surface. For  this purpose, the Sea Tiger is, amongst others, equipped with an active dipping sonar,  passive sonar buoys, and weapons (torpedoes and missiles).

100 naval NH90 helicopters have already been delivered to six nations and have completed  over 70,000 flight hours in search and rescue, humanitarian, and military operations. There  are currently 430 NH90 helicopters in service worldwide that have accumulated over 270,000  flight hours.