NAHEMA (NATO Helicopter for the 1990s Design and Development, Production and Logistics Management Agency)

NAHEMA stands for the NATO Helicopter for the 1990s Design and Development, Production and Logistics Management Agency. It is the NATO agency responsible for managing the NH90 helicopter programme, and NATO's own publications identify it as the agency that executes that multinational programme.

The agency is tied to one programme. NATO lists NAHEMA among its multinational programme agencies, and it is associated with the NH90 rather than acting as a general NATO procurement authority. The sections below explain how NAHEMA relates to NAHEMO, what the NH90 programme covers, and how a Canadian supplier should read the acronym when it appears in a document.

NAHEMA and NAHEMO: agency and organisation

Two similar acronyms appear in NATO material, and they are not interchangeable. NAHEMO is the NATO Helicopter for the 1990s Design and Development, Production and Logistics Management Organisation. NAHEMA is its executing agency. NATO's audited financial statements for NAHEMO and the annual report of the International Board of Auditors for NATO both describe this arrangement. See the International Board of Auditors for NATO annual report for 2013 and the 2013 NAHEMO financial statements.

In practice, the organisation is the broader framework established by the participating nations, and the agency is the body that carries out the work. When you see NAHEMO, think of the organisation. When you see NAHEMA, think of the agency that runs the programme day to day.

The NH90 programme the agency manages

NAHEMO was established to meet the participating nations' requirements for the design, development, production and in-service support of the NH90 helicopter. The NH90 is a new transport and naval helicopter, and the programme covers its full life, from design through to logistics support. That scope is reflected in the agency's long name, which lists design and development, production, and logistics management.

NATO's page on its agencies and organizations places NAHEMA within its multinational programme agency structure, alongside the NH90 programme it supports.

Charter date and location

NATO's Council approved the NAHEMO Charter on 7 February 1992, according to the NAHEMO financial statements. The charter is the founding document for the organisation of which NAHEMA is the executing agency.

NATO describes the NH90 programme agency as located in Aix-en-Provence, France, as stated in the 2013 annual report of the International Board of Auditors for NATO. The full expansion of the acronym also appears in the NATO Handbook (2001).

Where to confirm NATO terminology

NATO maintains an official terminology database, NATOTerm, which holds non-classified military and NATO-relevant terminology. Bid teams that meet unfamiliar NATO acronyms in tender documents can use it as a reference point alongside the NATO publications cited on this page.

What NAHEMA means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

NAHEMA is a NATO agency tied to the NH90 programme. It is not a Canadian federal contracting authority, and it is not a standard Canadian clause or requirement. A reference to NAHEMA in procurement documentation concerns the NATO NH90 helicopter programme or its management arrangements.

If you see the acronym in a solicitation, read the surrounding text to find out which programme activity, such as support, logistics or production, the work relates to. Then confirm the requirements with the contracting authority named in that solicitation. Do not assume Canadian bidding rules or supplier obligations beyond what the document itself states.