Airbus Helicopters on Tuesday unveiled two next-generation rotorcraft concepts developed for a NATO Support and Procurement Agency study aimed at defining future medium multi-role military helicopter capabilities under the NATO Next Generation Rotorcraft Capabilities (NGRC) programme.

The announcement, made at the company’s headquarters in southern France, outlines a proposal combining a high-performance conventional helicopter and a high-speed compound rotorcraft design. The RTX businesses Collins Aerospace and Raytheon, along with the European missile manufacturer MBDA, collaborated with Airbus to develop the concepts.

Airbus said its proposal emphasizes modularity and simplicity, aiming to ensure long-term affordability and operational efficiency for military customers. The platforms would share common systems for maintenance, training, weapons, and connectivity under a modular open system architecture approach, intended to facilitate upgrades and reduce lifecycle costs.

“We want to ensure that Europe is in a position to propose a platform that will best fit our military partners’ needs in terms of affordability, operational efficiency, and maximum availability for both the conventional helicopter and for the high-speed rotorcraft,” said Bruno Even, chief executive of Airbus Helicopters.

He clarified that the concepts aim to serve as a foundation for future operational requirements discussions with NATO partners. Bruno Even said Airbus is continuing incremental upgrades to its existing military helicopter range while also working on next-generation systems integrating connectivity, cybersecurity, crewed-uncrewed teaming, and multi-domain combat capabilities.

In July 2024, the NATO Support and Procurement Agency awarded Airbus Helicopters a contract to lead a concept study under the NGRC project, which seeks to define, design, and support a future medium multi-role helicopter for participating NATO nations.

Airbus said its high-speed concept builds on experience from earlier compound demonstrators, including the Airbus X3 and the Airbus Racer. According to the company, flight testing of these configurations demonstrated significantly higher cruise speeds compared with conventional helicopters, as well as expanded flight envelopes allowing rapid acceleration, deceleration, climbing, and descent.

The manufacturer said evaluations conducted by military pilots under the European Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies program validated the aerodynamic benefits of adding wings and propellers to the compound configuration.

While the NGRC program remains in the study phase, the outcome could shape NATO members’ future rotorcraft fleets, as several countries consider replacing aging platforms in the coming decades. Airbus did not disclose a timeline for a final platform selection or entry into service.

Source: Airbus Press Release