An initiative led by a group of NATO members to develop a next-generation rotorcraft to enter service in the coming decades has moved a step forward with the award of concept study contracts to Airbus, Leonardo and Sikorsky.
In fact, four out of five of the west’s major military helicopter manufacturers – Boeing is absent – are involved in the Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) project, with Bell having announced a tiltrotor-based partnership with Leonardo earlier this year.
Awarded by the NATO Support & Procurement Agency (NSPA) – which is managing the project on behalf of six member states – the contracts will see each bidder deliver up to two “integrated concept studies” by next autumn.
The NSPA will then make its recommendations by the end of 2025 to the nations involved: France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK. Canada will also join shortly.
Airbus is partnering with sister companies Collins Aerospace and Raytheon and missile maker MBDA to analyse two integrated concepts of next generation military rotorcraft.
Speaking to FlightGlobal at the recent Farnborough air show, Airbus Helicopters chief executive Bruno Even said that for the high-speed element of NGRC it would propose a solution based on its Racer compound architecture, while if speed is less of a priority for the nations a next-generation NH Industries (NHI) NH90 could offer a solution.
Airbus Helicopters is a partner in the NHI consortium with Leonardo Helicopters and GKN/Fokker.
Interestingly, digital renderings released by the manufacturer show a largely conventional helicopter – almost resembling its abandoned X6 replacement for the heavy-twin H225 – save for small pusher propellers mounted on horizontal stabilisers near the tail rotor.
Pure high-speed may not be the main focus of NGRC, but the initial specifications still call for a helicopter that travels more quickly than present generation rotorcraft: the optimum cruise speed should be in excess of 220kt (410km/h) but “a cruise speed of less than 180kt is not acceptable”, the project’s requirements document states.
Even adds: “Our goal, together with our highly skilled partners, is to develop a European solution, a concept that would fulfil both the needs of the NATO armed forces while also guaranteeing industrial sovereignty for our European nations and maintaining key engineering competencies.”
Sikorsky, which is to develop concepts based on its X2 co-axial compound technology – previously passed over by the US Army in favour of the Bell V-280 Valor tiltrotor for its Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) requirement – has also assembled a consortium of tier one suppliers for the project.
This includes BAE Systems and subsidiary Malloy Aeronautics, ELT Group, ESG Elektroniksystem und Logistik, GE Aerospace, Hellenic Aerospace Industry, Kongsberg, Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg, MAGroup, Rheinmetall, Safran and Terma.
“We are confident our game-changing X2 rotorcraft will provide NATO with an integrated rotorcraft system that combines speed, range, manoeuvrability, survivability and operational flexibility, enabling commanders and aviators with multi-domain operations required to deter ever-evolving threats for decades to come,” says Andy Adams, vice-president, Lockheed Martin Sikorsky Future Vertical Lift.
Sikorksy is highlighting the co-axial X2 design’s advantages over a tiltrotor, particularly when it comes to vertical flight.
”Our technology is optimised to be a vertical-lift platform,” says Jeff White, vice-president of strategy and business development at Sikorsky. “It hovers quite well, it picks up a tremendous amount of weight and it flies fairly fast.”
White spoke to FlightGlobal at the Farnborough air show, ahead of the NGRC contract announcement. He noted that Sikorsky’s X2-based Defiant X design, which was ultimately unsuccessful in the US Army’s FLRAA competition, proved capable of reaching speeds of 247kt.
Sling loading of heavy cargo and anti-submarine warfare are, White suggests, examples of military operations that favour the robust hover and vertical-lift capability offered by an X2 rotorcraft.
Besides the partnership with Bell, Leonardo Helicopters is working with GE Aerospace, Hensoldt – in which it holds a stake – Leonardo DRS, MBDA, Dutch aerospace research institute NLR, Rolls-Royce and Safran.
Gian Piero Cutillo, Leonardo Helicopters managing director, says: “Our proposal will be developed around advanced tiltrotor concept studies, leveraging the solid and established experience of the Leonardo consortium team.
“The team is committed to delivering strong conceptual solutions to fulfil the operational requirements expressed by NATO.”
Bell parent company Textron has confirmed its collaboration with Leonardo, with chief executive Scott Donnelly offering some hints about their NGRC strategy.
“Probably not that anybody is surprised, we’d be looking at a potential tiltrotor solution for that requirement,” Donnelly told FlightGlobal at the Farnborough air show.
Worth a combined €17.1 million ($18.5 million), the NGRC contracts came after six companies were down-selected in May. The unsuccessful bidders were consultancy Deloitte, Lithuanian company Jetcopter, and Canadian firm Bornea Dynamics.
An initial pair of concept studies have already been awarded to GE Aerospace and Lockheed, to respectively examine novel powertrain solutions and an open systems architecture.
On 18 July, the NSPA announced that the GE-led powertrain study had been completed but provided no details on its results.
Additional reporting by Ryan Finnerty.
