Dutch maritime NH90s suffer corrosion

Last year, the Royal Netherlands Air Force deployed one of its NH90s for the first time aboard a navy vessel, during anti-piracy operation Atalanta in the Gulf of Aden.
After an inspection conducted following the mission, it was concluded that the amount of wear and tear and corrosion to the helicopter was much higher than anticipated. The same problems were noted on another aircraft deployed to the Caribbean.
The air force has come to the conclusion that the problems seem to be caused by design and assembly failures, and incomplete maintenance instructions..
NH Industries has acknowledged the problems and started its own investigation into possible solutions.
Information about the Dutch corrosion issue has also been shared with the NATO helicopter management agency and other NH90 partner countries. France has also reported two cases of corrosion.
Meanwhile, Italy has recently started naval operations with its NFH-variant aircraft.
flightglobal