Italian army aviation fully operational with NH90 in Afghanistan

Italy's Task Unit Nemo has quietly assumed full operating capability with the NH90 helicopter in Afghanistan.

The first of five Italian Army NH90s deployed to Herat aboard a US C-17 on 20 August and the last arrived on 22 September (all personnel had arrived by 6 September), but details have just emerged that the force has become operational on NH90's first deployment into theatre. The helicopters are now operating under Task Force Fenice, supporting Italy's contingent in Regional Command-West (RC-W) with troop lift and medical evacuation.

The unit performed 89 day and night sorties before full operational capability was reached on 25 September. Five full aircrews are currently deployed, enabling the unit to provide 60 flying hours during a 30 day period, but the ultimate goal is to reach 90 hours with four aircrews: eight pilots, four flight engineers, and eight door gunners.

The Herat-based NH90s were all brought up to an enhanced Initial Operational Capability configuration before deployment. According to Italian defence reports, NH90 has so far offered good dust resistance and overall robustness. Low-light night flying capabilities are said to have significantly improved with the introduction of Configuration 3 of the Thales TopOwl helmet-mounted sight/display before deployment.