Newsletter navale

Le ministère néerlandais de la Défense avait stoppé les livraisons d’hélicoptères NH90. D’après la ministre néerlandaise de la Défense, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, son pays a accepté de reprendre les livraisons des hélicoptères NH90 que l’armée néerlandaises doit percevoir. Un accord passé avec le fabricant, Airbus Helicopters, a permis de régler un problème lié à une corrosion accélérée de l’appareil.

Au mois de juin 2014, les livraisons avaient été suspendues. Une corrosion anormale avait alors été observée par les équipages néerlandais évoluant sur NH90. Finalement, un accord trouvé avec le constructeur a permis que ce dernier finance les réparations nécessaires pour effacer cette corrosion.

Au total, 20 hélicoptères NH90 avaient été commandés par les Pays-Bas dont 12 destinés à équiper la marine néerlandaise. Sept hélicoptères NH90 doivent encore été livrés au ministère néerlandais de la Défense. Deux d’entre eux seront livrés avant la fin du mois de décembre.

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) will commence first-of-class flight trials on board its newly-commissioned landing helicopter dock (LHD) vessel HMAS Canberra in March 2015, the service told IHS Jane's on 16 December.

The 27,800-tonne amphibious ship was commissioned on 28 November and is expected to significantly improve the RAN's sealift and amphibious capability once it is cleared to operate aircraft such as the MRH-90 multirole helicopter, the S-70B-2 Seahawk, and the CH-47F Chinook.

Commander Michael Waddell, Officer in Charge of the RAN's Aircraft Maintenance and Flight Trials Unit (AMAFTU), told IHS Jane's that Canberra first embarked an MRH-90 and an S-70B-2 on 26 November while the ship was alongside at the RAN's Fleet Base East in Sydney. However, the purpose of this first embarkation was to conduct deck-handling trials including parking and lashing procedures, and did not involve flight operations.

"The actual flight trials while the ship is at sea will be conducted for about eight weeks from early March 2015," said Cdr Waddell. He added that the trials are designed to define the ship/helicopter operating limits (SHOLs) within which the different helicopter types can be employed from the LHD.

"These trials involve measuring the directions in which the winds come from, determining at which speeds we can operate for both vessel and aircraft, and identifying any other potentially difficult issues for each of the landing spots on the ship," said Cdr Waddell. Canberra has six helicopter landing spots on its flight deck.

Based on data collected from these trials, the AMAFTU will define a set of SHOLs that will specify parameters for the safe operation of aircraft on board. "These include parameters such as the aircraft's maximum weight, the maximum wind strength, and the amount of fuel in the aircraft while operating," said Cdr Waddell.

Although the trials in March 2015 will only involve the MRH-90 and the S-70B-2, Cdr Waddell said that data collected can also be used to come up with operating recommendations for other aircraft such as the MH-60R, although in the case of the MH-60R the service has made no plans to embark such aircraft on Canberra as yet.

"We can also use the information collected to provide limited clearances for other aircraft types from other nations, such as the S-61 Sea King and AS332 Super Puma, if they want to visit," he added.

"Our preference would be to be able to operate any helicopter in the Australian Defence Force on the ship if possible," said Cdr Waddell, although he added that there are no plans currently to embark any other aircraft on the LHDs besides the MRH-90, the S-70B-2, the Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter, and the CH-47F. The Tiger and the CH-47F will undergo sea trials on board Canberra in 2016.

Cdr Waddell also told IHS Jane's that the deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on board Canberra is "something that is being discussed", although there are currently no concrete plans to do so as the RAN has yet to make a decision on the acquisition of UAVs.

"When we do start making more use of UAVs, and I think that's probably something that will occur, then Canberra will be a great platform to operate from and we would get involved in clearing that," said Cdr Waddell.

Although the Canberra class is currently only intended to operate rotary-wing aircraft, the retention of the ski-ramp forward (a legacy of the design's antecedents in Spain's Juan Carlos I strategic projection ship) has raised the possibility that the ships could, in due course, operate fixed-wing short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft, write Ridzwan Rahmat and Richard Scott .

In May 2014, a spokesman for Defence Minister David Johnston told IHS Jane's that the country will consider acquiring the STOVL variant of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter. The spokesman was responding to media reports suggesting that Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has instructed planners to examine the possibility of buying F-35Bs to operate from the Canberra-class LHDs.

However, an independent analysis published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in November 2014 concluded that the benefits of reintroducing organic fixed-wing air power into the Australian Defence Force (ADF) "would be marginal at best, wouldn't be commensurate with the costs and other consequences for the ADF, and would potentially divert funding and attention from more valuable [programmes]".

Navy Recognition learned during the Farnborough International Airshow 2014 that NHIndustries and MBDA started integration of the MARTE ER (Extended Range) anti-ship missile on the NH90 NFH maritime helicopter. NHI and MBDA representatives explained that fitting trials already occured in June 2014 while flight and separation tests were planned for the fall of 2014.

The integration work of this new missile is to answer the interest of two potential customers for a long range anti-ship missile capable of being launched from the NH90. The first customer is the Italian Navy which has already taken delivery of some of its 46 NH90 in NFH (Nato Frigate Helicopter) configuration it has on order. These helicopters are expected to be deployed on board Italian Navy's frigates for anti-submarine and anti-surface missions. The second potential customer is Qatar which signed during DIMDEX 2014 (naval exhibition held in Doha in March which we were covering) a letter of intent for 12 NH90 TTH and 10 NH90 NFH, from Airbus Helicopters.

When asked if the air launched version of the Exocet (AM 39) would ever be integrated on the NH90, an MBDA engineer explained the Exocet is physically too long and heavy: Initial studies have shown that during separation, the missile creates too much aerodynamic turbulences for the helicopter as well as affects its center of gravity too much.