Series production of European NH90 helicopter has started

11 May 2004

Orders now amount to 325 aircraft

The first NH90 helicopter, built in series production, was presented to the public at the ILA aerospace exhibition in Berlin today. The aircraft, built entirely from composite material and assembled on the Eurocopter production line in Germany, successfully made its maiden flight last week.

The NH90 is the largest helicopter programme ever launched in Europe and is being carried out by NHIndustries. This is the European consortium of Fokker Aerospace Group (5.5%), the French-German Eurocopter (62.5%) and the Italian company Agusta (32%). The programme encompasses the development and production of 253 helicopters to be used by the participating countries: Germany, France, Italy, Portugal and The Netherlands (20 navy versions). Another 72 orders have now been received from countries not taking part in the consortium: Finland, Norway, Sweden and Greece.
The production contracts now cover a total of 325 aircraft, representing a value of EUR 255 million for the Dutch participants spread over a period of 15 years (of which EUR 240 has already been reported).
 
It is expected that, partly based on 86 options and new export contracts, a turnover of several hundreds of helicopters will be achieved. NHIndustries is already in the final stages of negotiation with several new clients for new contracts.
 
The contribution to the European consortium by the Dutch industry, for which Fokker Aerospace Group acts as national consortium leader, comprises the design, testing and production of:
- the complete tail sections (Fokker Aerospace Group)     
- the cabin doors (Fokker Aerospace Group)
- the wheel housings (Fokker Aerospace Group)
- the landing gear and intermediate gearbox (SP Aerospace)
- a tactical mission module for the board computer (Netherlands National Aerospace Laboratory NLR)
 
The operating company involved in this project, Fokker Aerostructures, part of Fokker Aerospace Group, uses advanced materials and production technologies for the construction of the components in order to reduce weight as much as possible. 
 
The NH90 is a medium-weight military helicopter which will be used for tactical transport of troops, anti-submarine operations and search and rescue operations. In the Netherlands the NH90 will replace the Lynx helicopters of the Royal Netherlands Navy.
 
Fokker Aerospace Group develops and produces advanced components and systems for the aviation and aerospace industry, and supplies integrated services to aircraft owners and operators. These activities are performed by the Aerospace Industries and Aerospace Services units. The group achieved a turnover of € 478 million in 2003 with 3.000 employees out of the total Stork turnover of € 1.94 billion.

Press information:
Stork N.V.
Dick Kors
Tel.: +31 (0)35 695 75 75 or +31 (0)6 51 98 40 54