Airforces Monthly - February 2017
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Above: HKP 14D ‘Whitefox 349’ set against a spectacular landscape during<br />
Fjällflygning. ‘Whitefox’ is the radio callsign used by the 1st helikopterskvadron,<br />
with helicopters using individual numbers in the 300 range. Left: The first HKP<br />
14F delivered to Sweden photographed at its home base at Ronneby in May<br />
2016. This is the NH90 ASW version. Of special note is the large 360° Telephonics<br />
OceanEye AN/APS-143B(V)3 tactical radar under the belly. The weather radar<br />
and a forward-looking infrared sensor are mounted in the nose. Below: ‘Whitefox<br />
351’ cruises between the mountains south of Abisko.<br />
flying in mountainous terrain.<br />
Nevertheless, the Royal Norwegian<br />
Air Force’s 339 Skvadron from<br />
Bardufoss has occasionally<br />
sent its Bell 412SP helicopters<br />
to the Abisko training camp<br />
for extra practice. The Finnish<br />
are less familiar with this type<br />
of flying, and have participated<br />
several times. In 2016, for<br />
example, a single Finnish NH90<br />
from the Helikopteripataljoona<br />
(Helicopter Battalion) based<br />
at Utti in southern Finland<br />
deployed to Abisko together<br />
with its Swedish colleagues.<br />
The Finnish crews described<br />
the experience as ‘like flying the<br />
Alps’. They are used to a different<br />
type of terrain as the mountains<br />
in the north of their country are<br />
smaller and more rolling, which<br />
in turn affects how the wind<br />
behaves in those areas.<br />
The Swedish<br />
HKP 14<br />
programme<br />
A CONTRACT between<br />
NHIndustries and the Swedish<br />
Defence Materiel Administration<br />
(Försvarets Materielverk, FMV)<br />
for 18 new medium-weight<br />
multi-role NH90 helicopters was<br />
signed on September 26, 2001,<br />
with deliveries originally planned<br />
to start in early 2005. The<br />
Flygvapnet wanted a high cabin<br />
version of the NH90 specially<br />
developed for Sweden, and the<br />
order consisted of 13 Tactical<br />
Troop Transport (TTT) variants<br />
and five Anti-Submarine Warfare<br />
(ASW) variants. This was later<br />
changed to nine of each version.<br />
Both variants can also be used<br />
for search and rescue (SAR) and<br />
medical evacuation (medevac).<br />
Delays in NH90 development<br />
meant that the first HKP 14<br />
did not reach Sweden until<br />
September 6, 2007. The military<br />
type certification performed<br />
by the FMV took longer than<br />
expected, which further<br />
postponed the operational<br />
introduction of the HKP 14. The<br />
Flygvapnet officially received<br />
the first four NH90s from NHI<br />
and the FMV (designated as the<br />
HKP 14A and HKP 14B) during<br />
a handover ceremony in May<br />
2011. They were all in a very<br />
basic configuration without<br />
any tactical equipment, such as<br />
radar, forward-looking infrared<br />
(FLIR), sonar or the tactical<br />
mission system. These NH90s<br />
were mainly used for basic flying<br />
training in Sweden.<br />
Gradually, NH90 deliveries<br />
continued with better-equipped<br />
examples, and in December 2013<br />
the first HKP 14D was delivered<br />
to Sweden. This was an interim<br />
tactical version optimised for<br />
international operations. The<br />
final fully equipped TTT variant<br />
will be designated HKP 14E,<br />
and is expected during <strong>2017</strong>-<br />
2021. The first ASW-equipped<br />
derivative was supplied to<br />
Sweden in December 2015,<br />
with the designation HKP 14F.<br />
Deliveries of this version will<br />
continue until 2020.<br />
The initial, basic HKP 14s<br />
will be returned to NHI<br />
and retrofitted with tactical<br />
equipment, creating nine HKP<br />
14E (NH90 TTT) and nine HKP<br />
14F (NH90 ASW) aircraft.<br />
#347 FEBRUARY <strong>2017</strong> 69
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