The first Germany military’s NH90 medium class military helicopters arrived in Mali as part of Germany’s largest military mission abroad currently.

An additional 300 German soldiers are deployed in Mali as part of the European Union’s (EU) training mission EUTM. The army began on Friday with the shifting of NH90 combat and Tiger transport helicopters from Leipzig-Halle airport to Mali. According to the German army, they will be used to transport and rescue injured people. In addition, operations to escort convoys and conduct surveillance are also planned.

An NH90 helicopter configured for medical evacuation was flown to Bamako, Mali, on 27 January by an Antonov An-124-100 of Volga-Dnepr Airlines, reports IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly, which notes that it will be followed by three more NH90s and four Tigers. After arriving in Bamako, the helicopters will fly 1 200 km to Gao in support of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

The NH90 medium class military helicopter is a modern and multi-role aircraft designed according to the most stringent NATO standards. Developed in two versions – tactical troop transport (TTH) and NATO Frigate Helicopter (NFH) – the NH90 is well suited for operations in the most demanding conditions over land and sea, day and night.

The NH90 – developed by Europe’s NHIndustries partnership (Airbus Helicopters, Agusta Westland, and Fokker) – was designed to meet NATO’s requirement for a modern medium-sized multi-role military helicopter for both land and maritime operations.