Nov 15 2019

NSPA delivers H-145M to Luxembourg in 'record time'

On 15 November, the H-145M Helicopter Handover Ceremony was held at Luxembourg Findel Airport. Organised by Luxembourg Police, the event, chaired by the Minister of Defence marked an important milestone for the nation; the delivery of the first of the two H145M Helicopters to Luxembourg, acquired by the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) on behalf of the Directorate of Defence.

High representatives from Luxembourg Government and Defence, the Police Grand-Ducale, EU bodies, NSPA and Airbus attended the event. After the speeches, a symbolic handover ceremony of the helicopter took place and the guests had the opportunity to witness the H-145M capabilities first-hand.

Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, François Bausch, opened the ceremony underlining the nation's commitment and willingness "to increase its defence efforts substantially for the benefit of NATO, the European Union and their Members."

Mr Bausch expressed his gratitude to the NSPA team for "the acquisition of this defence capability in a record time", highlighting "the excellent relationship between NSPA and the Grand Duchy".

During his speech, Mr Peter Dohmen, NSPA General Manager explained that "the accomplishment of such a challenging schedule" was possible thanks to "the seamless and fruitful cooperation with both the Directorate of Defence of Luxembourg and Airbus Helicopters."

"This is a good example of the Agencies effective project management capability in a multinational environment", Mr Dohmen assured.

The helicopters will be initially operated by the Police to conduct law enforcement, surveillance, and search and rescue missions. However, the configuration of the helicopters will allow the execution of military operations in the near future.

In addition to the procurement of the helicopters, the NSPA has placed a wide range of specific mission and logistics support contracts, which include service support and training of crewmembers. The support package has been completed with the inclusion of specific services such as the onsite technical support and the provision of refuelling services.

The delivery of the second helicopter is planned before the end of the year with the intention to achieve Initial Operational Capability (IOC) by 1 January 2020 and Full Operational Capability by 1 January 2021.

The delivery of these helicopters will provide Luxembourg with the necessary assets to acquire a new capability in the air domain, which represents the first step for the creation of a National Aviation component.

NSPA delivers H-145M to Luxembourg in 'record time'

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