Norway Strikes Deal To Upgrade Its Helicopters

The Norwegian military plans to upgrade its Bell 412 helicopters in a new deal struck with Kongsberg and Patria.

As per yesterday’s (Tuesday’s) press statement, a contract for upgrading has now been concluded between Forsvarsmateriell — the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency — and Kongsberg Aviation Maintenance Services (KAMS) and its subcontractor Patria.

Defence Minister Bjørn Arild Gram commented: “We are now ensuring helicopter readiness until the new helicopters are in place, so that the Norwegian Armed Forces will have better operational capacity during the transition period.”

Norway’s armed forces operate 18 Bell 412 helicopters, which are stationed at the Rygge and Bardufoss air bases. Plans to replace the special forces’ helicopters have long been mooted, but no replacement aircraft has yet been announced.

The modernisation is likely to include new avionics and instrumentation and potentially gearbox improvements to some models. As far as possible the upgrades will be implemented in conjunction with planned maintenance schedules to optimise operational availability of the aircraft.

Major General Øivind Gunnerud, Commander of the Norwegian Air Force said: “It is positive that the Bell 412 is being upgraded so that the air force has a helicopter that can be on standby and solve other tasks we are required to do.

“Bell 412 is an older helicopter system that needs to be upgraded to be relevant until new helicopter systems are acquired.” 

Andre Jægtvik, president of KAMS, added: “The agreement shows how the industry can assist with expertise and capacity and be a good strategic partner for the Air Force.”

• You can read more about the deal on the Kongsberg website