Airbus Helicopters looks to Leonardo to counter US
threat in military sector
21 January 2021
Europe’s two rotorcraft manufacturers must come
together to develop a next-generation military helicopter or run the risk of
losing out to their rivals, an Airbus Helicopters executive has warned.
Jerome Combe, head of product policy and
strategy at the airframer, told the Royal Aeronautical Society’s
Next-Generation Rotorcraft Conference that it would be undesirable to have two
major European helicopter manufacturers “competing in a shrinking military
market”.
Source: NH Industries
“Without co-operation we take the risk
of not reaching critical mass” to achieve a return on the substantial
investment required to bring a new aircraft to market, he says.
Airbus Helicopters has its two main
manufacturing sites in France and Germany, while rival Leonardo Helicopters has
its critical mass in Italy and the UK.
Those four countries, plus Greece, are
involved in a NATO push to design and develop a future medium-class helicopter
– with a maximum take-off weight of 8-15t – to enter service in 2035 under the
organisation’s Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability effort. That sees a
requirement to replace around 1,000 medium-lift helicopters in the period
from 2030-2040.
But Combe says there is also potential
to join forces under a similarly titled effort Airbus has proposed to the
European Defence Fund.
Combe is hopeful that this proposal can
coalesce into an “identified” programme along the lines of the four-country
EuroMALE unmanned air vehicle initiative.
He says support for the rotorcraft
initiative has already been voiced by all three of its home nations: France,
Germany and Spain.
“We would definitely be stronger towards
Europe if we were going hand and in hand with Leonardo. We hope this will be
the case in the future.”
Discussions between the pair are already
under way, says Combe, and he is positive that an agreement on a future
direction can be reached.
He notes that both companies are
separately developing high-speed civil platforms – Racer and the
Next-Generation Civil Tiltrotor, respectively – under the EU’s Clean Sky 2
programme.
These could be used to perform flight
demonstrations for military customers to assess the suitability of their
architectures for a range of missions, he says.
And while the Racer will be a smaller
aircraft than that outlined by NATO, Combe says that Airbus modelled a similar
compound architecture for its now abandoned X6 programme for a helicopter of up
to 16t.
“When we explored the architecture for a
heavier aircraft there was no blocking in terms of the design,” he says.
Source: Airbus Helicopters
Airbus Helicopters and Leonardo have
previously collaborated through NH Industries – alongside Fokker – on the NH90
programme.
While Italy and the UK are part of
NATO’s NGRC process, both countries have also expressed an interest in the
USA’s Future Vertical Lift (FVL) programme.
Should one or the other decide to leave
the NATO effort, that could also throw Leonardo’s continued participation into
doubt.
However, Combe says this will depend on
whether FVL is “a competitor or complementary asset” to NGRC.
That will ultimately depend on the
requirements outlined by NATO, particularly those around speed, range and
endurance, says Steve Allen, head of strategy at Leonardo’s UK helicopter unit.
“A discussion around vehicle
architecture is fundamental from an early stage,” he says.
In addition, choosing a non-US product
may be driven by concerns around consideration needs to be given to sovereign
capability, freedom of action and industrial strategy, he adds.
The NGRC group should begin to clarify
some of these issues later this year, when it conducts planned engagement with
industry.
Allen also notes that while the 2035
timeframe is achievable, veterans of previous development programmes would
consider it a “sporty timeline”.
Although FVL presents an obvious threat
to military sales, Combe stresses that the technological development driven by
the programme will also lead to increased competition in the civil market.
US helicopter manufacturers are
benefiting from huge planned investments under FVL – a combined total of around
$5 billion for the two programmes of record for new assault and scout
helicopters.
Even if a proposed design is not
selected, the research and development investment already received will be
applied to a manufacturer’s civil range, he says.
“We need to be very aware and awake of
the threat that is arising for the European industry. At the end of the
day, I think the future of the rotorcraft industry in Europe depends on
successful military programmes. Without that, I think we will lose,” he says.
“The US won’t give critical technologies
to its European competitors.”
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