Airbus touts European alignment on NATO Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability
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Airbus touts European alignment on NATO Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability
Another statement from RAeS Next Generation Rotorcraft Conference: Future Military Medium Lift Helicopter for 2040+
https://www.janes.com/defence-news/n...aft-capability
Although I have my doubts this probably makes sense in the likely 2030/40s scenario.
I presume the idea is to build on the NH-90 experience, where this would leave the rump of Westlands in the post-Brexit world is a question. As the UK pulled out of the NH programme and has a tendancy to plough its own requirements furrow, will the UK become a take or leave it customer for whatever the US or EU helicopter manufacturers have to offer or will its likely share of the European total buy still give it influence on the European product and workshare distribution? As a 30% shareholder of Leornado, I'm sure the Italian government would want to use it's influence to the benefit of manufacturing at Verigiate.
Speaking at the virtual Royal Aeronautical Society Next-Generation Rotorcraft Conference on 21 January, Jerome Combe, Portfolio Policy & Strategy at Airbus Helicopters France, said that the NATO Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) programme announced last year provides an opportunity for Airbus and Leonardo to come together to consolidate and cement Europe’s place at the top of the global helicopter marke
“It is important to bear in mind that European industry – Airbus and Leonardo – is leading the civilian part of the helicopter world. Between us, we have up to 80% of the market share. This did not happen by itself but through major military programmes in the 1980s and 1990s that we were then able to onboard onto our civilian range of helicopters. If we do not have a major programme for the 2030 horizon, then we would clearly be at risk of losing this leadership,” Combe said. “[With the NGRC] we think that there is a real opportunity for Europe to align and to think about what really should be a European next-generation rotorcraft, adapted to European needs, using European know-how, and [that delivers] sovereignty for European industry.
“It is important to bear in mind that European industry – Airbus and Leonardo – is leading the civilian part of the helicopter world. Between us, we have up to 80% of the market share. This did not happen by itself but through major military programmes in the 1980s and 1990s that we were then able to onboard onto our civilian range of helicopters. If we do not have a major programme for the 2030 horizon, then we would clearly be at risk of losing this leadership,” Combe said. “[With the NGRC] we think that there is a real opportunity for Europe to align and to think about what really should be a European next-generation rotorcraft, adapted to European needs, using European know-how, and [that delivers] sovereignty for European industry.
Although I have my doubts this probably makes sense in the likely 2030/40s scenario.
I presume the idea is to build on the NH-90 experience, where this would leave the rump of Westlands in the post-Brexit world is a question. As the UK pulled out of the NH programme and has a tendancy to plough its own requirements furrow, will the UK become a take or leave it customer for whatever the US or EU helicopter manufacturers have to offer or will its likely share of the European total buy still give it influence on the European product and workshare distribution? As a 30% shareholder of Leornado, I'm sure the Italian government would want to use it's influence to the benefit of manufacturing at Verigiate.
"will its likely share of the European total buy still give it influence on the European product and workshare distribution? "
Guess......... every European manufacturer now has a heaven-sent excuse to cut the UK industry out of any joint programme
Guess......... every European manufacturer now has a heaven-sent excuse to cut the UK industry out of any joint programme
Perhaps things like this will provide a positive driving force in UK industry thinking - maybe we'll get back to providing for ourselves. Although I know we'll likely just buy american.
regretfully I don't think the UK can afford to go it alone on any significant high tech aerospace program any longer
The UK seems to be opting for a Block E Apache and F Model Chinook. Given the comments by the CEO of Airbus in the run up to Brexit, and subsequent supply chain issues, why buy more eurotrash? it's normally overdesigned and undermanufactured anyway.
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Depending if one counts the Wildcat as a Lynx development (95% new components) or a new design I think one has to go back to the era of the Belvedere and Wasp/Scout to find a solely UK indigenous military helicopter design that went into production.
If political pressure was the reason for the RoKN dropping more Wildcats in favour of the Seahawk, I suspect it is going to become increasingly hard for a European manufacture to compete with the US for export sales and generate capital for new developments. In which case the benefits of alignment may outweigh those of competition within Europe. HMG seems to be trying to back both horses at present but it will have to commit itself one way or the other balancing matching defence requirements against political and manufacturing base considerations. Grnted it could of course go different ways for different segments.
I dont think it political pressure, Its just that euro choppers have straight out never matched the US. Australia replacing tiger with apache and the RAN is replacing its 6 MRH-90 with seahawks either R or S's
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The RoKN bought Wildcat for its batch one Maritime Operational Helicopter program when it beat the MH-60R in open competion. For batch 2 the Seahawk wasn't even in the initial bidding, LM and NH dropped out leaving Leonardo as the winner. After the deadline an FMS based proposal for MH-60Rs was put forward and the competion reopened. Granted there may have been improvements in sensor suite and armaments proposed but the MH-60R was substantially more expensive, had lost against the Wildcat before and requires redesign of the ships that will use it to allow operations. Ironically the restriction of what Korea could specified through an FMS as opposed to a direct sale was supposed to have been one of the reasons Wildcat won batch 1. Trump tweeted at least twice lauding Korean financial contribution to mutual defence at the time the decision in favour of Seahawk was announced.
The apparent anti-military political environment in many European countries means EU protectionism doesn't appear to extend to an FMS style support to Miltary exports and even before Brexit they lacked a capacity to provide the indirect subsidies inherent to FMS on anything like the scale of the US. Even less so the direct subsidies.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
https://www.defensenews.com/global/2...next-gen-helo/
Six NATO countries sign agreement to collaborate on next-gen helo
PARIS — Six NATO countries signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly work on concepts for a next-generation helicopter on June 16 at a meeting of alliance defense ministers in Brussels.
France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are committing €26.7 million, or roughly $28 million, for the Next-Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) project, according to a NATO statement. Canada will likely be an observer nation…..
The countries will look at range and speed improvements for a medium-lift helicopter, the ability to operate in an electronic warfare scenario and a variety of other attributes that will be refined over the next two to three years. The envisioned missions include transportation, medical evacuation, search and rescue, and assault.
The Netherlands is the most recent nation to sign onto the NGRC program, asFrance, Germany, Greece, Italy, and the United Kingdom signed letters of intent to participate in the effort in late 2020. Many of the countries involved will see helicopters reaching the end of their expected service life, and the goal is to come up with aircraft to replace them by 2035.
The new aircraft must have an unrefueled range of more than 1,650 kilometers, with a target of eight hours endurance and a load capacity between 10,000 and 17,000 kilograms (22,000 and 37,400 pounds, respectively).
The goal is also to develop a common airframe for both land, air and maritime variants, although the agency allows for the possibility of separate platforms if a common airframe proves too contentious.….
Six NATO countries sign agreement to collaborate on next-gen helo
PARIS — Six NATO countries signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly work on concepts for a next-generation helicopter on June 16 at a meeting of alliance defense ministers in Brussels.
France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are committing €26.7 million, or roughly $28 million, for the Next-Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) project, according to a NATO statement. Canada will likely be an observer nation…..
The countries will look at range and speed improvements for a medium-lift helicopter, the ability to operate in an electronic warfare scenario and a variety of other attributes that will be refined over the next two to three years. The envisioned missions include transportation, medical evacuation, search and rescue, and assault.
The Netherlands is the most recent nation to sign onto the NGRC program, asFrance, Germany, Greece, Italy, and the United Kingdom signed letters of intent to participate in the effort in late 2020. Many of the countries involved will see helicopters reaching the end of their expected service life, and the goal is to come up with aircraft to replace them by 2035.
The new aircraft must have an unrefueled range of more than 1,650 kilometers, with a target of eight hours endurance and a load capacity between 10,000 and 17,000 kilograms (22,000 and 37,400 pounds, respectively).
The goal is also to develop a common airframe for both land, air and maritime variants, although the agency allows for the possibility of separate platforms if a common airframe proves too contentious.….
ORAC: I hope that they take a good hard look at what NH -90 did to become what it has become, and learn some lessons from that.
https://www.defensenews.com/global/2...next-gen-helo/
Six NATO countries sign agreement to collaborate on next-gen helo
PARIS — Six NATO countries signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly work on concepts for a next-generation helicopter on June 16 at a meeting of alliance defense ministers in Brussels.
France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are committing €26.7 million, or roughly $28 million, for the Next-Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) project, according to a NATO statement. Canada will likely be an observer nation…..
The countries will look at range and speed improvements for a medium-lift helicopter, the ability to operate in an electronic warfare scenario and a variety of other attributes that will be refined over the next two to three years. The envisioned missions include transportation, medical evacuation, search and rescue, and assault.
The Netherlands is the most recent nation to sign onto the NGRC program, asFrance, Germany, Greece, Italy, and the United Kingdom signed letters of intent to participate in the effort in late 2020. Many of the countries involved will see helicopters reaching the end of their expected service life, and the goal is to come up with aircraft to replace them by 2035.
The new aircraft must have an unrefueled range of more than 1,650 kilometers, with a target of eight hours endurance and a load capacity between 10,000 and 17,000 kilograms (22,000 and 37,400 pounds, respectively).
The goal is also to develop a common airframe for both land, air and maritime variants, although the agency allows for the possibility of separate platforms if a common airframe proves too contentious.….
Six NATO countries sign agreement to collaborate on next-gen helo
PARIS — Six NATO countries signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly work on concepts for a next-generation helicopter on June 16 at a meeting of alliance defense ministers in Brussels.
France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are committing €26.7 million, or roughly $28 million, for the Next-Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) project, according to a NATO statement. Canada will likely be an observer nation…..
The countries will look at range and speed improvements for a medium-lift helicopter, the ability to operate in an electronic warfare scenario and a variety of other attributes that will be refined over the next two to three years. The envisioned missions include transportation, medical evacuation, search and rescue, and assault.
The Netherlands is the most recent nation to sign onto the NGRC program, asFrance, Germany, Greece, Italy, and the United Kingdom signed letters of intent to participate in the effort in late 2020. Many of the countries involved will see helicopters reaching the end of their expected service life, and the goal is to come up with aircraft to replace them by 2035.
The new aircraft must have an unrefueled range of more than 1,650 kilometers, with a target of eight hours endurance and a load capacity between 10,000 and 17,000 kilograms (22,000 and 37,400 pounds, respectively).
The goal is also to develop a common airframe for both land, air and maritime variants, although the agency allows for the possibility of separate platforms if a common airframe proves too contentious.….
Any concepts drawn yet? €26M won't go far as a study. Who will do it - Leonardo and Airbus?
