News Review: MRH90 program deed to remediate helicopter project | ADM Dec 2011 / Jan 2012

Australia’s MRH90 helicopter program has received a boost with an agreement between the Commonwealth and manufacturer, Australian Aerospace, on a collaborative approach to continue delivery of the helicopter. The announcement from Australian Aerospace came shortly before the minister announced that the project had been placed on the Projects of Concern list.

Australian Aerospace and the DMO have signed a deed for the MRH90 Program which initiates a remediation plan to bring the program back on track following a number of challenges over recent months. The project has been the subject of two diagnostic reviews by the DMO due to technical and schedule difficulties.

Commenting on the agreement, Dr Jens Goennemann, CEO of Australian Aerospace, said: “Unfortunately, the MRH90 Program has been hampered with problems not uncommon with complex defence procurements, but the signing of this deed is a significant step forward in achieving our goal of remediating these issues and continuing helicopter deliveries.”

Defence has ordered 46 MRH90s have been ordered to replace existing Black Hawk and Sea King helicopters. Of these, 13 have already been delivered to Navy and Army. The deed provides a key pathway for the aircraft to become ready for use in a battlefield environment.

“The signing of the deed provides the Commonwealth with more surety as it plans for future rotary-wing operations and is also a sign of good faith that the Commonwealth, Australian Aerospace and our industry partners are committed to delivering this very important capability to the ADF,” said Dr. Goennemann.

The MRH90 Program deed comes after the declaration of compliance for the NH90 TTH (Tactical Transport Helicopter) variant’s Final Operational Configuration. This declaration of compliance was issued in November by the NATO Helicopter Management Agency (NAHEMA), which is the NATO agency that manages the NH90 acquisition for the participating countries.

It marks formal completion of the NH90 TTH’s development and enabled deliveries to begin before year-end in the helicopter’s full operational configuration.

“The milestone marks the most important achievement in the life of the NH90 program. NH90, the most modern rotary-wing aircraft in its class and the largest military helicopter program ever undertaken in Europe, offers now its full range of operational capabilities to the military forces,” stated Lutz Bertling, the President and CEO of Eurocopter, which is a member of the NH90 industrial team.

With this go-ahead, the initial NH90 TTH variant in the final operational configuration is to be received by the French Army. It will be followed by the start-up of deliveries in 2012 to Italy, Belgium and Germany.