Spanish Navy prepares for NH90 introduction
April 17, 2025
They will be supported by maintenance personnel trained by Airbus and the NH90 squadrons of the Fuerzas Aeromóviles del Ejército de Tierra (Spanish army aviation) and the Ejército del Aire y del Espacio (Spanish Air and Space Force).
Spain’s relationship with the NH90 began in 2006, when the Spanish Ministry of Defence purchased its first batch of 21 NH90s, 15 GSPA (HT-29 Caimán or TTH) helicopters (known as the Sarrio) for the Spanish Army (FAMET) and six CSAR/Personnel recovery/special forces support-configured Lobos (‘Wolves’) for the Spanish Air Force, all of which have now been delivered.
With the aim of renewing its tactical helicopter fleet, in 2018 Spain gave the green light for a second batch of 23 ‘Standard 3’ NH90s, six for the air force, and ten for the army. This order also included the development and production of seven naval MSPT (Maritime Spanish Tactical Transport Helicopter) variants for the Spanish Navy, based on the GSPA variant with a new undercarriage, and automatic tail and blade folding, making them broadly equivalent to what Airbus calls the MTT version.
These are known as the Sable in Spanish service, and are intended to serve as multi-purpose tactical transport helicopters which would be capable of operating in low visibility or adverse weather conditions and at night. The new variant equipped for combat search and rescue (CSAR), medical evacuation and logistic transport missions.
A new NH90 HSPN anti-submarine variant has also been proposed for the Spanish navy.
