Airbus eyes future Portuguese navy helicopter tender
Airbus says it is actively assessing Portugal’s future frigate helicopter renewal, a defence procurement opportunity that could shape a later phase of the navy’s fleet upgrade.
Airbus Helicopters is “actively assessing” Portugal’s future replacement of the helicopters used on its navy frigates and says it is ready to offer its NH90 NFH, according to comments from Julien Negrel, the company’s vice-president for Western Europe, to ECO/eRadar. The potential procurement matters because it would form part of a later stage in Portugal’s naval modernisation programme.
Negrel said the NH90 NFH, a naval helicopter designed for frigate operations, was the “most suitable product” for the Portuguese navy’s needs, citing anti-submarine warfare and maritime surveillance capabilities. He added that Airbus was ready to present its solution and was looking forward to taking part in what he described as an “open and dynamic procurement process”.
The future renewal of the frigate helicopter fleet has already been flagged by navy chief Admiral Jorge Nobre de Sousa, who told Lusa that, after his priority of securing a third submarine, the next priority is the future replacement of the frigates’ helicopters in Portugal’s next Military Programming Law.
That purchase is not immediate. ECO previously reported that the FREMM EVO frigates being bought from Italy’s Fincantieri do not include helicopters, because the current aircraft were modernised and are expected to remain operational until 2035, when the first maintenance cycle for the new frigates is due. Nobre de Sousa has said that until then Portugal has time to assess market options, including whether to keep a crewed helicopter model or move to a remote-operated solution.
Originally published at Eco.pt
