Swedish Defence, The first of a total of 18 Type 14 helicopters was handed over to FMV today in connection with the Paris Air Show.
The Type 14 helicopter project is the Swedish contribution to an international co-operative project, the Nordic Standard Helicopter Program (NSHP), which aims at acquiring a common helicopter platform for Sweden Norway and Finland. The project groundwork began in 1999, and three national agreements were signed in 2001 with supplier NHIndustries for a total of 52 helicopters. Of these 18 would be for Sweden, with options for an additional seven.
The Type 14 helicopters will be delivered until 2009 with land and maritime operational capabilities, i.e. troop transport, search and rescue, and anti-submarine warfare. Due to the differences in requirements, the co-operation between the Nordic countries has reduced. At present there is only a bilateral agreement between Sweden and Norway in respect of maintenance.
All the Swedish helicopters will be equipped with a higher cabin. [The] 24 centimetres extra height in the cabin increases the load volume by 2.5 cubic metres to a total of 17.5 cubic meters. This also permits for example medical personnel to work in more comfort.
The Type 14 helicopter, which is internationally called the NH90, is a twin-engined medium size helicopter. NHIndustries, the consortium manufacturing these helicopters, is owned by AgustaWestland (32%), Eurocopter (62.5%), and Stork Fokker (5.5%). Orders have been received, apart from the Nordic countries, from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Greece, Oman, Austria, Spain, Belgium and New Zealand.
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