Full Spectrum Support Through 2027
As part of the Helicopter Flight Training Systems (HFTS) GmbH team, Rheinmetall is modernising flight simulators for the German Army Aviation Corps’ NH90 helicopters, the company announced on 17 February.
Awarded to HFTS, the contract was signed at the end of December last year and is worth several million Euros to Rheinmetall, encompassing operation, service and maintenance of the simulators through to 2027, with a contractually guaranteed availability rate of at least 98%.
The Bundeswehr is thus sticking to HFTS GmbH, the tried-and-tested operator of its NH90 simulators. Founded in 2004, the company today operates NH90 full-mission simulators in Bückeburg, Fassberg and Holzdorf. It is a consortium in which Airbus Helicopter, CAE, Rheinmetall and Thales each hold an equal share.
The modernisation project involves updating the system to match the current configuration of the NH90 (MR1) as well as qualification of the four simulators in accordance with EASA licensing regulations, Level C.
Rheinmetall has extensive experience and expertise with NH90 simulators: in addition to flight simulators, the Group has already supplied several systems for training NH90 ground personnel. As recently as mid-2019, an ASTERION-based system of this type for the NH90-NTH naval helicopter went into operation at Nordholz Naval Air Base. Before this, ground crew training systems had already been supplied to Fassberg. Here, German Army ground personnel are schooled in operating and maintenance procedures for the NH90 TTH in exact replicas of the cockpit.
