Additional NH90 helicopters for the Netherlands

On 9 December 2025, the Dutch Ministry of Defence signed a contract to acquire three new NH90-NFH maritime helicopters, with an option for two more. Delivery of the helicopters is expected in 2030.

With this purchase, the Ministry of Defence is acting on the ambition outlined in the Defence White Paper 2024, which addresses the growing demand for NH90 capacity.

All new helicopters will be delivered with the latest upgrades. The current NH90 fleet will be brought to the same standard through a Midlife Update, which will take place during the production period of the new aircraft. Scramble Magazine first reported on this Mid-Life Update (MLU) on 20 December 2023.

The NH90s will be deployed for anti-submarine warfare, support of amphibious operations, and other tasks. Once the new aircraft are added to the Defence inventory, the Ministry will have 22 NH90s in the maritime configuration.

All NH90s are operated by 860 Squadron Arcens affligo as part of the Defence Helicopter Command (DHC) at Den helder/De Kooy.

Credit photo: Robert Erenstein (Scramble Archive)