France has placed an order for up to 68 NH Industries NH90 tactical transport helicopters for the army, valued at €1.8 billion ($2.6 billion).
The Délégation Général pour l'Armement (DGA) has placed a firm order for 12 NH90s, to be followed by 22 in 2008 and 34 in 2010. Deliveries will begin in 2011.
It is France's first order for the TTH version, which will replace army Aérospatiale Pumas. The French navy already has 27 NFH naval variants of the 10t-class NH90 on order.
NH90s for the French armed forces will be assembled in Marignane by Eurocopter, which holds a 62.5% stake in the NH Industries consortium. The other partners are AgustaWestland of Italy and Stork Fokker of the Netherlands.
© AgustaWestland
The French order takes total firm sales of the NH90 to 507 aircraft. The first production NH90s were delivered to the German army in December 2006, more than two years behind schedule. Germany has firm orders for 112 TTHs.
The first NH90 for Italy, which has ordered 70 TTHs and 46 NFHs, is to be delivered to the army in December. And while the first of 20 NFHs for the Netherlands has flown, deliveries of the naval variant are not expected to begun until 2009.
Export deliveries of the NH90 began in June, with the handover of the first TTH high-cabin variant to Sweden. So far 14 countries have ordered the helicopter.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
