New Zealand upgrades NH90 helicopters with software, hardware

Seven out of the eight NH90 helicopters in service with the Royal New Zealand Air Force prepare to conduct a sortie in May 2025 to demonstrate No 3 Squadron's maintenance and aircrew capabilities. (Royal New Zealand Air Force)

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has upgraded its NHIndustries (NHI) NH90 Tactical Transport Helicopters (TTHs) with software and equipment to enhance the fleet's operations in New Zealand's controlled airspace, the service said on 28 May.

The upgrade was completed in-country in four weeks, according to the service. The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) has a total of eight NH90 TTHs in service. The helicopters operate with No 3 Squadron at RNZAF Base Okhea.

The upgrade “includes the latest generation of secure inter-aircraft communications, Saturn, to enable secure communications between aircraft in a combat environment”, the No 3 Squadron Capability Development Officer, Squadron Leader Austin Smith, said.

Saturn is a secure jamming-resistant waveform for military communications in the ultra high-frequency (UHF) band. Replacing the Havequick (HQ) waveform, Saturn was developed to the STANAG 4372 standard to guarantee interoperability.

Inclusion of the encrypted radio system in the RNZAF NH90 helicopters ensures that the helicopters remain “operationally effective” and that helicopter crews can use it to “communicate securely with international partners”, the New Zealand Ministry of Defence (MoD) has previously said.

With encrypted radios, the helicopter fleet will be able to “undertake multinational operations, including in the Pacific”, the MoD said in 2023.

A software update also gives the helicopters the ability “to automatically maintain a hover position all the way to touchdown”, removing the previous limitation of 15 ft, the NZDF said.