If you can go back to the mid 1990’s one will find that not much has changed. Norway disseminated a SAR requirements document to industry and participated in the Nordic acquisition program. More than ten years later they are beginning anew. The past requirements were very demanding and Norway was unbending. As a result, Norway elected not to continue with full participation in the Nordic program and go it alone in selecting the NH-90. In the end the Nordic program (Sweden, Finland) decision followed Norway in selecting the NH-90. Norway did not consider the S-70, S-92 or the EH-101 suitable for their requirements. Denmark similarly decided early and went against the Nordic decision and selected the EH-101. Street rumors at the time indicated that the Sikorsky H-92 was a clear front runner if not the competition winner. Flash back to the future. The S-92 has been successfully certified and fielded. Any Norwegian decision in the future will most probably be 90% political and 10% operational.
