NH90 HFTS pilot training centre adapts latest helicopter standard

The good cooperation conducted since 2004 between the German forces and the Helicopter Flight Training Services consortium for NH90 aircrew training will continue until 2028, thanks to the recent signing of the contract to modernize the four Full Mission Simulators on three sites. This contract complements the initial 14-year private finance agreement (PFI) signed in 2004.

The HFTS consortium which brings together Airbus Helicopters, CAE, Rheinmetall and Thales, in equal parts, will upgrade the simulators to the latest helicopter standard called MR-1. This upgrade is accompanied by a renovation of the computer configurations, the replacement of the instructor station and the tactical situation animation software (CGF) and includes Level C certification with the European authority EASA.

Thanks to this program, German Armed Forces will be able to provide state-of-the-art training services for their NH-90 crews in a virtual environment. In addition, the networking capacity of all the simulators spread over the Bückeburg, Fassberg and Holzdorf sites, and the opening up to the German Army's other training facilities will enable crews to train collectively for complex missions.

This major refurbishment combined with the excellence of the HFTS consortium teams will further improve flight safety and ensure first-class training and development. 

All NH90 pilots of the German Armed Forces have exclusively used the simulators of HFTS GmbH in the past decade, totalizing 200 000 flight hours. International customers such as Sweden, Belgium, Finland and New Zealand have also successfully trained in the NH90 simulators in recent years.” Peter Halbig, director of the consortium