France to take six additional NH90 helicopters

France has ordered six additional NHIndustries NH90 troop transport helicopters for its army, increasing the service’s eventual inventory to 74.

Deliveries of the 11t-class rotorcraft are due to take place between 2017 and 2019.

“The French armed forces have deployed the NH90 operationally in Mali where its outstanding endurance, versatility and manoeuvrability have been greatly appreciated,” says Guillaume Faury, chief executive of Airbus Helicopters, the three-way consortium’s largest shareholder.

Airbus Helicopters

France has also ordered 27 examples of the naval NFH variant, with 15 presently in service. Both models are powered by Turbomeca RTM322 engines in French service.

To date, around 270 NH90s have been delivered to 13 countries and have logged nearly 100,000 flight hours.