Airbus Helicopters is aiming to complete preliminary design work on the hybridisation of its H145-based PioneerLab technology demonstrator by mid-year, keeping the rotorcraft on track to take flight in 2027 with a new low-emission powertrain installed.
Under plans disclosed last year, the airframer intends to replace the PioneerLab’s stock Safran Helicopter Engines Arriel 2E turboshafts, each rated at 667shp (894kW), with a single Pratt & Whitney Canada 1,000shp-class PW210S engine and two Collins Aerospace 250kW electric motors.
Source: Dominic Perry/FlightGlobal
Technologies to be tested on H145-based PioneerLab include advanced sensors, automation and hybrid powertrain
Johannes Plaum, head of R&T at Airbus Helicopters Deutschland, speaking to journalists at the firm’s Donauworth site, says the preliminary design review milestone is targeted for mid-2025, “which prepares us for the next step to do the detailed design”.
Installation of the hybrid powertrain is likely to take around 12 months, says project manager Dominik Strobel, but can only begin when the current round of flight testing is complete.
Although the helicopter’s hybridisation is a key future focus, the PioneerLab’s role is to evaluate multiple technologies, including advanced sensors and flight automation systems, plus aerodynamic changes to the configuration.
While RTX companies P&WC and Collins have been revealed as suppliers of critical parts of the hybrid powertrain, Airbus Helicopters has still to disclose who is providing the batteries for the system, or where the cells will be situated on the aircraft.
At the ILA Berlin air show last year, a model of the PioneerLab was displayed on the stand of the DLR, the German national aerospace research centre. The model featured battery boxes low on either side of the fuselage.
He also concedes the overall hybrid system will be heavier than the gas turbine engines it replaces but points to the PioneerLab’s purpose as a demonstrator rather than a development programme.
These include battery and thermal management, a new engine management system and the human-machine interface. The company must also gain understanding of how to balance and optimise the power delivery from the two different parts of the propulsion system.
The hybrid powertrain will contribute around 90% of that figure, while the remainder will come from unspecified aerodynamic improvements, mainly focussed on the aft section of the airframe.
These will cut drag in forward flight and reduce the interaction of the rotor wash on the airframe while in the hover. Plaum says they will be introduced progressively from early 2026, adding, “We will start flying them step by step”.
In the meantime, the airframer continues testing a suite of new sensors and flight-control updates. An “enhanced” version of its lidar-based rotor-strike alerting system is to be installed shortly, adding a fourth sensor to ensure 360° coverage.
Additionally, trials of an obstacle detection and automatic take-off and landing system are also underway, fusing inputs from a nose-mounted radar, forward-facing lidar and optical sensors to enable automated low-level flight.
To achieve the required precision, an additional pressure sensor has been integrated into the skid gear to accurately detect the moment of contact with the ground, regardless of terrain or slope angle.
