Rotorcraft · ICAO NH90

Nhi NH-90

The NHIndustries NH90 is a medium multirole military helicopter developed jointly by France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, built with an entirely composite airframe and one of the first fully fly-by-wire flight control systems fitted to a production helicopter. Its composite fuselage resists corrosion far better than a metal airframe, a real advantage for the naval and maritime versions that spend much of their working life around salt water. It's built in two main variants, a tactical troop-transport version and a navalised anti-submarine and utility version with a folding tail and rotor for shipboard storage. It has become the standard modern military helicopter across much of Western Europe, replacing a wide range of older Cold War-era types.

Nhi NH-90, example photo from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Jerry Gunner from Lincoln, UK · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Did you know?

The tactical NH90 TTH loads small vehicles through a rear ramp rather than side doors only, unusual among helicopters its size.

Specifications

Length16.1 m (53 ft)
Height5.4 m (18 ft)
Rotor diameter16.3 m (53 ft)
Maximum passengers20
Persons on board24
Maximum take-off weight9.1 t
Range450 NM (833 km)
Service ceiling20,000 ft (6,096 m)
Optimum ceiling8,000 ft (2,438 m)
Rate of climb1,575 ft/min (8 m/s)
Fuel capacity2,500 l
Engines2x Safran RTM322 or GE T700
Units built525

Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.

In CatchFlights

In CatchFlights the Nhi NH-90 starts as a Rare catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you.

A catch counts for the manufacturer Nhi, the NH-90 family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.

Catch it yourself.CatchFlights shows the aircraft flying near you on a radar, so a type like this one is only a catch away when it passes overhead. Explore CatchFlights.

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