Next Generation Combat Helicopters

The Airbus Guépard is designed to replace French Army, Navy and Air Force medium helicopters. © Airbus

By David Oliver

France, the UK and the USA are looking ahead to introducing the next generation combat helicopters into their armed forces.

Airbus Helicopters’ H160M Guépard, based on the civilian H160, is set to be delivered from 2026 to 2036 to the French forces. Labelled as a light platform, its technicalities are actually closer to a medium-sized helicopter, with a maximum take-off weight of 6,050 kg, considerably higher than the Fennec, Gazelle, Panther, Alouette III and Dauphin helicopters it is replacing. During Eurosatory, Vincent Chenot, head of the H160M programme, said that Airbus was already seeing significant interest from the export market. He added that Airbus Helicopters will start assembly of the first prototype after the summer this year, leading to a first flight in the second half of 2024 followed by a second test flight later in the year.

The Airbus H175M is a contender for the UK MoD’s New Medium Helicopter (NMH) contract. © Airbus

The Guépard is being designed to be part of the Scorpion collaborative combat system, which is at the basis of the French Army’s modernisation efforts. This is also a key objective of the Tiger Mk3 upgrade, launched between France and Spain, but yet without Germany. So far, only the NH90 is suited to incorporate the technological bricks necessary to operate as part of the Scorpion network. Equipping these future helicopters with such innovations will enable military forces to operate more swiftly and safely thanks to the resulting flow of information, bringing greater awareness of the battlefield. Regarding the Tiger Mk.3, Safran unveiled its new Euroflir 510 optronics system, specifically developed for the programme.

The Ministers of Defence of France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to kickstart the definition of the requirements phase of NATO’s New Generation Rotary Craft (NGRC) capability project which is scheduled for 2025, thanks to a € 26.7 million allocation. The ambition of the project is to reach greater

The Leonardo AW149 demonstrator is flying from Yeovil as part of the company’s NMH campaign. © David Oliver

Leonardo has conducted weapons firing trials with the AW149 with laser-guided rockets. © Leonardo

range, speed, and high-altitude performances, while making full use of the electromagnetic spectrum and being able to penetrate A2/AD systems. The NGRC will also be designed to operate alongside UAVs. A key objective is to ensure higher availability rates and ease of maintenance than what is achieved with current generations. To do so, the NGRC will need to be built on a modular architecture, and another major evolution required is a high level of autonomy. Finally, the NGRC, which will also comprise a naval version, will have to be able to operate in higher temperatures, which adversely affect the performances of current military helicopters.

The European equivalent of the NGRC, the European New Generation Rotary Technologies (ENGRT), was discussed at Eurosatory, by executives from Airbus Helicopters, Leonardo, OCCAR, EDA, and French Army officials. The aim would be to develop a replacement for the NH90, with a maximum take-off weight of 8 to 13 tons. It would be designed to be stealthy and to achieve higher levels of endurance. Similarly to the NGRC, the platform would operate alongside drones in a mannedunmanned teaming (MUT-T) capability. In July 2022 the ENGRT was selected as part of the European Defence Fund, 40 million € being assigned to this 42 months programme. In due time it might also become part of PESCO projects. Ultimately, the NGRC and ENGRT will probably end up as a single project. Regarding long-term perspectives, it seems this edition of Eurosatory brought up numerous questions about future helicopter programmes, which have yet to be answered. In May 2022 the UK MoD launched a £ 1 billion competition for 44 New Medium Helicopters (NMH) to rationalise its existing multiple rotary wing requirements into one platformtype to replace the RAF Puma and Griffon and AAC Bell 212 and Dauphin. NMH will provide a common medium lift multi-role helicopter, fitted for but not with specialist Mission Role Equipment (MRE) and able to operate in all environments in support of defence tasks.

The competitors are expected to include the Airbus Helicopters H175M, the Bell Helicopters 525 Relentless, the Leonardo AW149, and the Sikorsky S-70 Black Hawk which is assembled in Poland by Lockheed Martin’s subsidiary PZL Mielec. Airbus have stated that if the H175M is selected it would be produced at Broughton which it claims would revitalise the UK helicopter industry.

Leonardo has been pitching its AW149 for the NMH that would be built at its UK facility in Yeovil. Earlier this year Leonardo’s Chief Test Pilot Mark Burnand and Test Pilot Lee Evans put the AW149 Common Platform Demonstrator helicopter through its paces during a flight for EDR Magazine to show off the aircraft. In fact the aircraft used for the demonstration was an AW189K registered I-RAIU built in Italy in 2019 powered by two Safran Aneto-1K turboshaft engines.

While the demonstrator AW149 lacked military specific kit such as seat armour, EO/ IR sensors, defensive aids and armament, Leonardo believes the demonstrator gives a broadly accurate view of the type’s

New AH-64E Apaches are being delivered to the UK Army Air Corps. © Crown Copyright

performance, dimensions and baseline avionics fit. The wide cabin is able to fit 19 passengers or 16 fully equipped soldiers in crashworthy seats, or four stretchers and eight seats in a medevac role – with the ability to carry a payload of 3,700 kg. There is also cabin access to a rear bay, which can be used to stow extra cargo, equipment or even an optional fuel tank that increases the range to 500 nm. External cameras allow the pilots to monitor loading and unloading of personnel from the cabin aiding situational awareness when in confined spaces or on the ground, and also acting as another check beyond a rearcrew member that all troops are embarked or disembarked. The AW149 features latest glass cockpit avionics leveraging the latest advances in civil aerospace and the offshore helicopter sector. This includes four large 10x8-inch screens, integrated area navigation system and performance-based navigation precision approaches to allow single pilot IFR, as well as a traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) for situational awareness. This allows seamless IFR transit through civil airspace, as well as a reduced pilot workload.

Start-up is also extremely fast and automated via the Enhanced Control Display Unit (ECDU), with most time being spent on radios rather than flicking multiple switches across several panels. In the demonstration flown, the AW149 conducted a precision approach and recover back to Yeovil on autopilot, with the pilot flying hands off and just adjusting the speed of deceleration required with the helicopter coming into a hover automatically. This type of precision approach is not limited to airfields but could be used for landing anywhere in the world, using GPS to provide safe, accurate approaches in all weather, day or night and allowing the crew to focus on the mission itself. While some of the avionic functions are re-used from SAR and the civil world, these themselves have military applications – such as SAR search patterns or letdown in degraded visual conditions. However, it is not clear how the UK NMH conflicts with the UK’s involvement in the NGRC programme.

In February 2022 Leonardo revealed that it had held successful weapon firing trials of unguided and laser-guided rockets with an AW149. The trials assessed safe separation of laser-guided rockets from the hover and forward flight; refinement of the unguided rocket cockpit firing solution symbology to further aid accuracy; and the impact from night ripple firings of unguided rockets on EO sensor and night vision goggle performance. In July 2022 PZL-Świdnik, the Polish company fully owned by Leonardo, was awarded a € 1.76 billion contract by

the Polish MoD for 32 AW149 multirole helicopters. At Farnborough Leonardo announced it has begun to establish a new AW149 production line at its site in Yeovil, therefore the Polish choice should not impact the potential production in Yeovil should the UK select the AW149 as its NMH.

In 2016 the UK MoD announced the procurement of new Apache helicopters reinforcing the ambitions laid out in the Defence Command Paper in the recent Future Soldier announcement to enhance the British Army’s capabilities. Boeing is reconstructing 38 Agusta Westland, now Leonardobuilt WAH-64D Apaches to the AH-64E configuration by 2024 within Lot 7-11 of the US Army production series. Additional 12 new helicopters have been ordered. Service support will be provided by Leonardo Yeovil.

3 Regt AAC was the first unit to receive the AH-64E in November 2020 and deliveries are expected to be complete by the end of 2022. While the UK MoD launched these programmes, the Rotorcraft Concepts and Tactical Aviation Research effort announced in May 2022 it is geared at identifying concepts for future rotorcraft systems for the land and maritime environments. To address the future challenges of operating in complex military environments, there is a need to continue research and development of aviation concepts and technologies as the MoD looks forward to replacing a number of existing capabilities in the latter part of the 2030s and beyond. The Delivery Partner will support the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) to identify concepts for future rotorcraft systems that will deliver military effect in the land and maritime environments, develop and demonstrate the key novel technologies that enable future rotorcraft concepts to be realised, and underpin the understanding of future concepts and novel technologies through analysis and assessment. It will build on current research to mature and demonstrate technologies required by future tactical aviation to achieve Freedom of Action and Manoeuvre (FoAM) in a continuous descent operations environment. Some additional topics may be identified as the project matures such as in-cockpit assistance, autonomy, and automation of crew tasks that support situational awareness, decisionmaking and threat awareness during all phases of flight and while operating singly or in formations. An Early Engagement event in mid-2022, hosted by Dstl, will provide an opportunity for interested Industry organisations to gain further information of the requirement and Dstl expectations prior to the formal tendering stage.

Sikorsky/Boeing SB1 Defiant is a Future Long-Rang Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) contender for the US Armed Forces. © Boeing The Bell V-280 Valor tiltrotor is in the US Army’s FLRAA shortlist. © Bell

A mockup of the Bell V-280’s wide angle head-up display (HUD). © David Oliver The weapons bay of the Bell V-280 FLRAA contender. © David Oliver

The UK MoD Dstl also recently hosted a team from the US Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center as part of the information exchange agreement covering advanced rotorcraft systems. Since 2017 both sides have briefed each other on current activities and priorities and held two workshops covering operations in degraded visual environments and future helicopter survivability concepts. The workshops are helping to inform a draft project arrangement that will enable the development and exploration of joint concepts to improve the survivability of rotorcraft in the future battlespace by exploiting open systems architectures, networked defensive aids, degraded virtual environmental and teaming.

The US Department of Defense’s Future Vertical Lift (FVL) programme is a research and development effort to discovering, investigating and refining the technologies that will provide the next generation of vertical lift aircraft for the United States Armed Forces. According to the US Army, the goal of the programme is to develop technologies that improve maneuverability, range, speed, payload, survivability and reliability compared with current rotorcraft.

As part of the FLV the US Army is planning to procure both a Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) to replace the Boeingmanufactured AH-64 Apache and a Future Long-Rang Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) that will eventually replace the current fleet of Sikorsky-manufactured UH-60 Black Hawks utility helicopters. The service plans to initially field both types in the 2030s.

US Army budget documents say FY 2023 funding for the FARA programme will be used to continue airframe design and mission system development. Documents also show that competitive testing of FARA prototypes is now scheduled for FY2024, which begins in October 2023.

The 5,000th Black Hawk is expected to roll off the assembly line at Sikorsky’s production facility by the end of the year, and the US Army awarded Sikorsky a US$ 2.28 billion contract for 120 UH-60M Black Hawks in June 2022. The work covers from 2022-2026 and includes options for 135 helicopters. In place of the Black Hawk, the US Army intends to field the FLRAA, the programme aiming at providing both the US Army and the US Marine Corps with new utility helicopters, intended to serve until at least 2060.

For the FLRAA category Boeing and Sikorsky have joined forces to develop the SB1 Defiant designed for the US Army’s attack and

Sikorsky’s FARA contenders, the Raider X, is nearing completion and will fly by the end of the year. © Sikorsky

assault missions as well as the US Marine Corps long-range transportation, infiltration and resupply missions. The Defiant uses a rigid co-axial rotor system with a pusher propulsor at the back. It first flew in March 2019. Bell is offering its V-280 tiltrotor which took off for the first time in 2017.

On March 25, 2020, the US Army narrowed the FARA competition to Sikorsky and Bell for the final design, build and test phase of the programme which is expected to provide the required data for a contract award in 2024. Sikorsky’s Raider X is a compound helicopter concept with two coaxial rotors and a single pusher propeller, Bell’s 360 Invictus is conventional design based on technology from the Bell 525 Relentless. Both types are expected to fly by the end of this year.

A heavy-lift category of the FVL to replace the CH-47 Chinook may be launched in the future.