Airbus Helicopters has introduced new rotorcraft concepts aimed at meeting NATO’s Next Generation Rotorcraft Capabilities (NGRC) study requirements. The company’s proposal, developed with Collins Aerospace and Raytheon—both part of RTX—and MBDA, features two designs: a conventional high-performance helicopter and a high-speed compound concept. Airbus states that these platforms are designed for operational efficiency and to complement each other within military fleets.
A key aspect of the proposal is its focus on modularity and simplicity. The design philosophy is intended to make the aircraft easier to manufacture, maintain, and upgrade over time, with the goal of keeping long-term costs manageable. Both concepts will share maintenance procedures, training approaches, weapons systems, and connectivity features due to their Modular Open System Architecture.
Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters, said: “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. These two concepts are a basis to further exchange with our military partners on their vision and need for future military operations.”
Even added: “Airbus Helicopters is actively working on the future of its military range. On the one hand, we are preparing the evolution of our legacy range with a continuous improvement policy. With the Block 1 and 2 studies, we have a long-term NH90 evolution roadmap. Our dual product range, the H145M, the H160M, and the H225M, is setting new standards for military helicopters in terms of affordability, connectivity, and maintenance.” He continued: “On the other hand, we are working on the next generation of rotorcraft systems, leveraging modular multi-platform technologies such as connectivity, cybersecurity, crewed-uncrewed teaming, multi-domain collaborative combat, survivability and battle damage repair.”
In July 2024, Airbus Helicopters was selected by NATO’s Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) to lead a concept study under the NGRC project. This initiative involves several participants collaborating on designing and developing a medium multi-role helicopter.
The advanced concept builds on Airbus’s prior work in military rotorcraft development as well as experience from compound configuration demonstrators like X3 and Racer. According to Airbus Helicopters’ flight evaluations—including those conducted by military pilots—the configuration offers faster speeds than traditional helicopters along with improved acceleration capabilities. These tests were carried out under programs such as Europe’s Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies initiative.
This accumulated knowledge from extensive flight testing forms what Airbus describes as a strong foundation for its proposed next-generation capability.
