NEWTOWN, Conn. - According to an article by Richard Tomkins of UPI, the Royal New Zealand Air Force's NH90 Tactical Transport Helicopters (TTH) have now been retrofitted to a newer configuration. Installation activity was performed by Airbus Helicopters, with only four older aircraft modified. The RNZAF flies a total of eight NH90 TTHs.
Though Airbus did not disclose the specifics of the upgrade, such configuration updates usually involve a variety of structural changes, along with a limited avionics refresh. As only half the fleet received the upgrade, it is unlikely it included any significant enhancements beyond commonality modifications. Nations often engage in commonality retrofits to enhance the operational capabilities of their older aircraft, to improve interoperability with foreign fleets, and also to reduce maintenance costs. Further, a single fleet configuration simplifies any future upgrades a nation may wish to perform in the future, which can in turn reduce aircraft downtime and overall program cost.
New Zealand's retrofit program was just one of a handful of similar programs underway other countries, like Australia, Finland, France, Italy and Germany.
The NH90 is a medium twin-turboshaft military helicopter that first entered service in 2007. The TTH variant can adapt to a variety of transport and electronic support missions. In its troop transport configuration it can carry up to 20 troops and in MEDEVAC configuration, 12 stretchers.
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