Spain receives first Standard 3 NH90 helicopter

The first Standard 3 NH90 helicopter for Spain seen at Airbus Helicopters' Marignane production facility ahead of delivery. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)

Spain has received its first NHIndustries (NHI) NH90 helicopter to be delivered to the Standard 3 configuration.

Chief NHI stakeholder Airbus Helicopters announced the milestone on 29 October, saying that the first such helicopter had arrived in Spain from the company's Marignane production facility in France.

Standard 3 is a Spanish-specific configuration of the NH90 Tactical Transport Helicopter (TTH), which includes enhanced protection, communications, and operational security features, Airbus said. The first Standard 3 helicopter marks the start of deliveries of a second batch of NH90 TTHs for Spain.

Spain received 22 NH90 TTHs in its first batch (originally intended to be 45 helicopters) that was delivered from 2014 (six to equip the Spanish Air and Space Force and 16 to the Spanish Army). These earlier Spanish NH90s already featured a number of enhancements over the baseline variant flown by other countries, being fitted with more powerful engines such as the General Electric CT7 8F5 and country-specific software and communications equipment designed by Indra. These Spanish-specific platforms are designated NH90 GSPA. A further 23 NH90 TTHs were ordered as a second batch in December 2018, with 17 helicopters destined for the army and six helicopters for the air force.

In all, Spain will have 45 NH90 TTHs by the time deliveries are complete. It is likely that the earlier helicopters will be retrofitted to the latest Standard 3 configuration for a common fleet. The Spanish Navy is also considering the NH90 NATO Frigate Helicopter (NFH) for its maritime requirements.

For more information on the NH90, please see Special Report: NHI prepares for ‘exciting time' for NH90, despite negative reports .