Another defence giant is throwing its hat in the ring to replace the Navy’s ageing helicopter fleet, as lobbying for the lucrative project gears up. But how much the Government will commit to the project remains up in the air. George Block reports.
Airbus is set to offer the naval version of the NH-90 helicopters already operated by the Air Force to replace the Navy’s ageing fleet of Seasprites.
The European defence consortium has joined Italian aerospace giant Leonardo in going public with its intention to offer its aircraft for the maritime helicopter replacement project.
Senior managers from Airbus’ helicopter division were in the country this month and told the Herald the NH-90 NFH (Nato Frigate Helicopter) was the best option for the Royal NZ Navy.
The managers cited the range, versatility and interoperability of the NFHs with the existing fleet of NH-90s.
They rejected concerns arising from the early withdrawal of the helicopter type by Norway and Australia amid maintenance and serviceability issues, saying the Norwegians used a highly customised variant.
Meanwhile, the Americans have hinted they are also throwing their hat in the ring.
Sikorsky has touted the benefits to New Zealand of its MH-60 Seahawk helicopters used by the Australian Navy.
The Seahawks are only sold Government-to-Government.
Neither the US Navy nor the NZ Defence Force would confirm whether Sikorsky had responded to the request-for-information (RFI), a market research exercise run last year by the Ministry of Defence for the maritime helicopter replacement project ahead of a request-for-proposals expected later.
Last week, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced the upcoming Budget would include $571 million of new funding for defence, including commitments to boost pay and upgrade the navigation systems of its existing helicopters.
A spokesman for Collins this week said last year’s market research for the maritime helicopter replacement project is “informing options for an updated Defence Capability Plan”.
The plan will go before the minister next month before it is considered by Cabinet but there has been no word on how much the Government is looking to apportion to the project.
When the then Labour Government committed funding to buying the NH-90s for the Air Force nearly 20 years ago it pledged $771m to buy the eight helicopters, working out as $1.2 billion in today’s money.
The Seasprite helicopters, flown by naval aviators and maintained by the Air Force, are an ageing fleet and the NZ Defence Force says obsolescence issues affect their availability.
Last year, the Seasprites had a serviceability rate - meaning mission readiness - of just 19 per cent. In 2019 their serviceability was 38 per cent.
Attrition of skilled technical personnel in the Air Force saw the serviceability of the NH-90s fall to 51 per cent.
This month three senior managers for Airbus Helicopters were in New Zealand on a flying visit, including its France-based executive vice-president customer support and services, Romain Trapp.
They spoke to the Herald at Auckland Airport on their way down the country to Wanaka for an Airbus event celebrating 40 million flying hours for its Ecureuil helicopter family, featuring 40 of the 320 Airbus helicopters operating in New Zealand, according to the company.
Key to their pitch was Airbus’ decade of experience supporting the Defence Force and its existing staff numbering more than 200 in the country.
The managers confirmed they responded to the maritime helicopter RFI in April last year and are now waiting on the next steps by the Government.
Trapp said the NFH maritime variant was similar to the eight NH-90 tactical troop transports already operated by the NZ Air Force.
Asked why the NFH would be a better option than, for instance, the AW159 Wildcat helicopters Leonardo is pitching, Trapp said it has a longer range and larger seating capacity. Its range is 982km compared with the 777km for the AW159s and 870km for the Seahawks, while the NH-90 can carry 20 passengers compared with six for the AW159.
“It goes way further than any of its competitors, which is very important, especially in New Zealand,” he said.
“You have the commonality with the existing tactical troop transport, which means in terms of cost of operation especially transitioning from the Seasprite to the NFH ... today New Zealand has people who are trained.
“It’s really a multi-mission helicopter which is best in class in terms of anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare.”
The NFH can also be reconfigured quickly to undertake search and rescue, medevac or troop transport roles, taking five hours for three people to reconfigure, he said.
Trapp said its de-icing system allowed it to operate in Antarctica. Airbus claims it can fly down to temperatures of -40C.
The managers would not discuss the possible unit cost, saying it would depend on how many were supplied and other factors.
There has been controversy about the serviceability and reliability of NH-90 variants in several countries.
The NH-90s bought by Australia, dubbed the MHR-90 Taipans, were retired early last year after a crash that killed four personnel and several other incidents.
In 2021, then-Defence Minister Peter Dutton said the Taipans had been a “project of concern” for a decade and there had been nine separate instances where the aircraft had been unsuitable to fly, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
They are being replaced by Sikorsky Black Hawk and Seahawk helicopters imported from the US.
The Airbus managers defended the serviceability of the NH-90s, including in Australia, and said there were no concerns about the reliability of the type.
In 2022, Norway announced it was retiring the NH-90s early and asking for a refund because they were either unreliable or delivered late, Reuters reported.
NHIndustries, which developed the NH-90 and is owned by Airbus, Leonardo and Dutch firm Fokker Aerostructures, called the move legally groundless, it was reported.
Asked why Norway retired the type early, Christian Venzal, Airbus Helicopters managing director Australia Pacific, said the country had used a unique, highly customised variant.
“They had a very customised variant which probably triggered some difficulties. Very unique,” he said.
The Herald also approached Lockheed Martin, which owns Sikorsky, about its potential involvement in the maritime helicopter replacement project.
It was quick to note the MH-60R was a US Navy aircraft and therefore only sold government-to-government, via the US government’s foreign military sales program.
The US Navy directed a request to comment to the NZ Ministry of Defence, which declined to comment, citing commercial sensitivities.
But the Sikorsky spokesman was more than willing to sing the praises of Seahawks, introduced to service in 1984 as a replacement for the Seasprite.
“The MH-60R helicopter would be an excellent choice as New Zealand’s Maritime Helicopter Replacement Project,” Sikorsky said in a statement.
The spokesman said the Seahawks would offer “synergy” with the Royal Australian Navy’s MH-60R fleet. They were a “highly reliable aircraft backed by a mature sustainment programme that keeps mission availability high”, the spokesman said.
The company had an active plan addressing capabilities and obsolescence to keep the aircraft going into the 2050s, the statement said.
There are more than 330 Seahawks flying globally, he said.
George Block is an Auckland-based reporter with a focus on police, the courts, prisons and defence. He joined the Herald in 2022 and has previously worked at Stuff in Auckland and the Otago Daily Times in Dunedin.
Get a coffee for a can at Scope and donate to the Ngongotahā Fire Brigade this week.