A NATO project to develop and field a future military rotorcraft by the late 2030s is now entering a “crucial phase” as the nations driving the effort attempt to firm up the requirements for the platform.
At present the Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) programme is in the concept development stage with a trio of OEMs conducting early study work – known as study 5 – into potential designs based on a set of wide-ranging initial attributes.
Those attributes were initially outlined in 2021 and have since been progressively refined, providing industry with guidelines to inform their concept design work.
“We know a lot of it is not compatible. We know we can’t have it all, it’s not possible – physics won’t allow it,” says Kevin Luxford, NGRC principal technical officer at the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), which is managing the project on behalf of seven NATO nations.
Luxford, speaking at the recent Defence IQ International Military Helicopter 2025 conference, identified the rotorcraft’s combination of range, speed and payload as remaining a challenge to address, asking: “Where is the right balance for the capability that we need?”.
Attributes for the NGRC call for speed of no less than 180kt (333km/h) but optimally around 220kt, range of above 900nm (1,650km) and an ability to carry up to 16 fully equipped troops in a rotorcraft with a maximum take-off weight of no more than 17t.
The three studies are due to conclude in the autumn, with their authors, Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo Helicopters, and Sikorsky, to each present the NSPA with up to two concepts.
Final presentations from the three contractors, including a video of the concepts, are due by mid-September.
While industry begins to “build the picture”, the NSPA and the nations backing the project will work “to understand the appropriate trade-offs to arrive at the optimum solution for the capability that NATO allies need.”
Luxford says that studies will include analysis and refinement of the current 11 broad missions the NGRC platform is designed to perform, ranging from air assault, maritime or littoral strike and anti-submarine warfare, to simple transport and logistics roles.
A joint “operational analysis” study led by the Defence Science & Technology Laboratory in the UK and France’s DGA defence procurement agency will also begin shortly, providing an independent view of the potential trade-offs in the design.
Cyril Heckel, NGRC programme manager at the NSPA, says drafting of the requirements has started and it represents a “crucial phase” of the project.
Heckel hopes that process can be concluded by the end of 2025 or in early 2026. “We want to have a chance to review the results of study 5. We are still working at pace,” he says.
Once completed, that will give industry 12-18 months in which to “develop the initial design solution”.
By the end of 2027, the project’s target is to have the “initial design solution with information and cost figures for the next phase”, giving time for “political assessment and a [launch] decision from nations” in the 2028-2029 period.
“The target is to sign the big contract in 2030,” says Heckel, which would cover the rotorcraft’s design, production and its initial in-service support phase.
Although the window for the initial NGRC delivery remains 2035-2050 the “probability” is that “it will be closer to 2040” – around 2038-2039.
With the memorandum of understanding underpinning the project only running until the end of 2029, discussions through 2026 and 2027 will address the commercial and political constructs required to support development of the NGRC, says Heckel.
Currently seven nations are part of NGRC: Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK.
Heckel says the door remains open for other countries to join – either as full members or observers – and thinks the NGRC Industry Day to be held at the NSPA’s Luxembourg headquarters on 27 May could spur additional interest.
