Scandinavian countries are famous for going their own way and it seems only fitting that one of what was originally four nations participating in the Nordic Helicopter Program (NHP) did just that in selecting its new rotorcraft. The defense ministry of Denmark, which dropped out of NHP some time ago, has opted for 14 AgustaWestland EH 101 helicopters for its SAR and tactical troop transport mission in a deal estimated to total $346 million.

At the same time, the remaining NHP countries–Finland, Norway and Sweden–instead selected the NH 90, a twin-engine medium utility helicopter produced by the NHI Inc., a consortium of Agusta, Eurocopter and what little is left of the now defunct Fokker. Finland and Norway plan to procure 20 and 14 NH 90s, respectively, with Sweden expected soon to announce its final requirement. Losers in the NHP competition are Eurocopter, which put forward an upgraded version of its Super Puma 2, and Sikorsky, which tried to interest the NHP countries in its S-92.