The NATO Support and Procurement Agency has awarded separate contracts to three teams led by Airbus Helicopters, Lockheed Martin Sikorsky and Leonardo to undertake a concept study on the design and execution of the Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability program. NGRC is geared to replace the military alliance’s helicopters by the mid-2030s.
NSPA said in a statement at the recent U.K. Farnborough International Airshow that the study, known as NGRC Concept Study #5, will last 13 months. “The strategy to launch three parallel contracts awarded by competition delivers on our commitment to maximize industry expertise, opportunity and engagement in the program and will provide a broad range of potential concepts in the study results for our multinational customers,” said NSPA General Manager Stacy A. Cummings, a past Wash100 winner.
Airbus named RTX’s Collins Aerospace and Raytheon businesses and MBDA its study partners.
“Our goal, together with our highly skilled partners, is to develop a European solution, a concept that would fulfill both the needs of the NATO armed forces while also guaranteeing industrial sovereignty for our European nations and maintaining key engineering competencies,” Airbus Helicopters CEO Bruno Even said.
Lockheed Martin said its team includes BAE Systems, ELT Group, GE Aerospace, Hellenic Aerospace Industry, Kongsberg, Safran, Rheinmetall, Malloy Aeronautics and Terma. According to Andy Adams, Sikorsky Future Vertical Lift vice president, the Lockheed Martin team will deploy the company’s X2 technologies in designing a helicopter prototype. “Sikorsky is ready to design a rotorcraft prototype for NATO’s NGRC concept study to support defense and deterrence for an ever-changing global environment,” he said.
Gian Piero Cutillo, Leonardo Helicopters managing director, disclosed at Farnborough that its study group comprises Bell Textron, General Electric, Hensoldt, MBDA Italia, NLR, Rolls-Royce and Safran. “Our proposal will be developed around advanced tiltrotor concept studies,” he said.