Airbus Helicopters handed over the first NH90 Standard 2 to the French Armament General Directorate (DGA) at Marignane on July 30, 2026, opening a run of 18 aircraft configured for special operations.
The DGA passed the helicopter to French Army Light Aviation (ALAT) the same day. All 18 are destined for the 4th Special Forces Helicopter Regiment (4e RHFS), at Pau in southwestern France, with the final delivery due in Spring 2029.
What separates Standard 2 from the rest of the fleet
The configuration adds a Safran Euroflir 410 D electro-optical system with four laser functions, including a designator for guided weapons, the French Ministry for the Armed Forces noted.
Other changes over the Standard 1, as flown by conventional units, include a new digital map generator, provision for a third crew member, enlarged rear sliding windows able to accept machine gun mounts, and a special forces radio kit developed by the French military aeronautics service SIAé for joint and coalition operations. The variant also restores a rapid rope extraction capability for commandos.
According to Airbus, the aircraft is pre-wired for the Direct Aperture System, still in development, which is intended to improve visibility in snow, dust and fog, day or night. Eventually, crews are to fly with a fully digital Thales TopOwl helmet able to display both DAS and sensor imagery on the visor.
Caracal and Cougar on the way out
The 18 aircraft will progressively replace the Caracal and Cougar helicopters currently being operated by the French Army, freeing H225M Caracals for transfer to the French Air and Space Force’s 1/67 Pyrénées squadron at Cazaux.
The NATO Helicopter Management Agency (NAHEMA), which contracts with NHIndustries on behalf of the program’s member nations, ordered Standard 2 development in 2020 on France’s behalf, under the 2019-2025 and 2024-2030 military programming laws.
A prototype began flight testing in June 2024, and the DGA completed a first operational evaluation campaign in early 2026. A second round covering the improved cargo hook and the laser designator was scheduled for July 2026.
Final assembly is carried out at Marignane. Safran Helicopter Engines builds the engines at Bordes, Safran Electronics & Defense produces the Euroflir 410 at Dijon, and the Cuers-Pierrefeu industrial aeronautics workshop supplies the radio kit and handles maintenance.
Spain follows France into the standard
France is no longer the variant’s only customer. Spain ordered 31 NH90s in a similar configuration in December 2025 as part of a 100-helicopter national package. Airbus Helicopters CEO Matthieu Louvot has claimed that the standard is “on its way to becoming the benchmark for special forces across the world”.
Further out, NAHEMA and NHIndustries began a two-year architecture study in April 2026 for an NH90 Block 2 mid-life upgrade aimed at the post-2040 environment.