Leonardo ready to oppose Norway’s stop to NH90 helicopters with Airbus and Fokker
In the note on the results of the first half of 2022, Leonardo could not fail to mention the cancellation of the contract for the purchase of 14 NH90 military helicopters by Norway
Nh Industries (Leonardo, Airbus and Fokker) will oppose Norway's decision to return the previously ordered NH90 helicopters.
This is what emerges from the note on the results of Leonardo's first half of the year, published on July 28 by the group led by Alessandro Profumo.
Among the significant events that occurred after the end of the financial year, Leonardo mentions that "in June 2022 the Norwegian Ministry of Defense Agency (NDMA) formalized a termination for default request under the contract – regulated by Norwegian legislation – for the supply of n. 14 NH90 helicopters stipulated in 2001 with NH Industries (NHI), a French company owned by Leonardo, Airbus Helicopters and Fokker Aerostructure, due to alleged delays and product non-conformities ”.
In fact, Norway will not only return the NH90 helicopters received so far but will also ask for the reimbursement of 5 billion Norwegian crowns, approximately 0.5 billion euros, plus interest.
In the aftermath of the Oslo defense decision, the consortium of companies had declared that it was "extremely sorry" about the decision and that it considered it "unfounded from a legal point of view".
But now the former Finmeccanica group makes it known that "NHI is currently evaluating the most suitable actions to counter this request".
All the details.
FROM NORWAY STOP TO THE CONTRACT WITH NH INDUSTRIES (LEONARDO, AIRUBS FOKKER)
In 2001 Norway ordered 14 NH90 helicopters for coast guard duties and anti-submarine warfare capabilities. Delivery was originally planned by the end of 2008, but so far the country has received only 8 helicopters in a fully operational configuration.
As Leonardo also points out in his note "The contract has been subject to extensions and amendments over the years and its conclusion was expected by the end of 2023".
In June, Norwegian Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram announced the decision to terminate the Navy's NH90 helicopter contract.
Specifically, “NDMA's request is to return the n. 13 helicopters already delivered and accepted and request the reimbursement of the sums disbursed including interest (having also submitted a request for enforcement, for the portion of guarantees still pending, against contractual advances disbursed) ”refers the note from Leonardo.
THE POSITION OF THE OSLO DEFENSE
Let's take a step back. In February 2022, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense asked the military, together with the Norwegian Defense Materials Agency and the Norwegian Institute for Defense Research, to conduct a comprehensive review of the capabilities of Norway's sea helicopters. The review concluded that even with significant additional financial investments, it would not be possible to bring the performance and availability of the NH90 to a level that meets Norwegian requirements.
THE NH90 PROGRAM
NHIndustries is the largest helicopter Joint Venture in European history and is responsible for the design, manufacture and support of the NH90, Europe's leading helicopter program. NHIndustries is made up of Airbus Helicopters (62.5%), Leonardo (32%) and GKN Fokker (5.5%).
THE CONTRIBUTION OF LEONARDO
As part of the NH90, Leonardo is responsible or significantly contributes to the design, production and / or integration of a wide range of critical helicopter systems and components, the note reads. These include the tail section of the fuselage, transmission, hydraulics, autopilot, naval variant mission system, powertrain integration and final assembly of the TTH (land) and NFH (naval) variants ) for various customers at the Venice Tessera plant.
To date, nearly 430 helicopters have been delivered, of which about 100 in naval version, to operators in different countries. The helicopters in service have accumulated over 265,000 hours of flight on mission, in any climatic condition, both in land and sea.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE NORWEGIAN STOP
But Norway has said no to the NH90 for its Navy. "No matter how many hours our technicians work and how many parts we order, it will never make the NH90 capable of meeting the requirements of the Norwegian Armed Forces," Defense Minister Bjoern Arild Gram told a news conference in June. .
"This cancellation is a new setback for the NH90 after the early withdrawal of the model in the Australian army, announced last December, in favor of the Black Hawk of the American Sikorsky, controlled by Lockheed Martin" commented Gianni Dragoni on his blog Weak Powers .
WHAT THE NHI CONSORTIUM WILL DO
However, it will not be that easy for Oslo to withdraw from the contract with Nhi.
"Nhi is currently evaluating the most suitable actions to counter this termination request which it deems legally unfounded and reasonably contestable in the appropriate forums, due to the lack of factual and legal bases to support a termination for default, due to incorrect interpretation of the contract and of Norwegian law , as well as for breach of confidentiality obligations ”, Leonardo said.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/leonardo-pronto-a-contrastare-con-airbus-e-fokker-lo-stop-della-norvegia-agli-elicotteri-nh90/ on Mon, 15 Aug 2022 14:11:22 +0000.