Airbus wins contract to procure Spanish NH90 maintenance.

According to Infodefensa TV, the Spanish Airbus company has been awarded a €41.7 million contract for the maintenance of Ground Spain Army's NH90 helicopters. The contract includes the aircraft, their spare parts, technical assistance, modifications and third-tier maintenance services for the components.

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Spanish NH90 helicopters. (Picture source: Airbus helicopters)

About the NH90 helicopter:

The NH90 is a twin-engine, medium-size helicopter program managed by the joint venture NHIndustries, a Company owned by Leonardo Helicopters, Airbus Helicopters and GKN Fokker.

The NH90 featured an advanced composite airframe, designed for ballistic tolerance, a high level of crashworthiness, lower weight, and 30 per cent greater endurance than a metallic counterpart. The four main rotor blades are also composed of composite materials, increasing fatigue strength and lifespan while providing for greater damage tolerance.

The Spanish version of the NH90, the GSPA, has been designed to perform technical missions such as troop transport, search and rescue, personnel recovery and medical evacuation. It is equipped for day and night operations in all types of environments.

Spain's first batch of NH90s consisted of 22 GSPA tactical transport helicopters. The new batch adds 16 more of this version. (Picture source: Anthony Pecchi/NHIndustries)

NH90 program:

The Armed Forces' special multipurpose helicopter armament program, also known as the NH90 Helicopter, aims to replace all fleets of tactical transport helicopters in service in the Army and Navy with a single NH90 helicopter model, manufactured by Airbus Helicopters España (AHE), as well as the financial provision and execution of the operation and maintenance phase of the NH90s in service, under the concept of common support.

The Army currently has a fleet of 12 helicopters of this model. The last one was delivered by the manufacturer, Airbus Helicopters, last July. In the coming weeks, the delivery to the Air Force of the first unit of the standard GSPA 2 version is planned for search and rescue missions at sea. Spain will receive with this standard ten helicopters in the next two years; the six for the Air Force, three for the Army and the prototype for the DGAM.