The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) has awarded three contracts to Airbus Helicopters, Lockheed Martin Sikorsky, and Leonardo respectively to perform detailed platform concept studies for its Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) programme.

Airbus Helicopters said it will partner with RTX’s Collins Aerospace and Raytheon and MBDA for the 13-month study, to explore two integrated concepts for NATO's Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) programme. Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters said the goal is to develop a military rotorcraft solution that fulfils the needs of NATO armed forces while guaranteeing industrial sovereignty for European nations and maintaining key engineering competencies.

“This project will be fully interoperable with other NATO means,” he said. ‘With our experience in civil and military helicopter design, we are convinced that we have the right cost-effective, high-performance, and operationally efficient solutions at for the next generation of military rotorcraft.”

NSPA general manager, Stacy Cummings, said the launch of Concept Study #5 is a significant milestone for the NGRC concept stage activities, and demonstrates NSPA’s dedication to meeting the challenge of next-generation medium-lift for participating nations.

“The strategy to launch three parallel contracts awarded by competition delivers on our commitment to maximise industry expertise, opportunity and engagement in the programme, and will provide a broad range of potential concepts in the study results for our multinational customers,” she said in a statement.

France, Germany, the UK, US, Ireland, and Italy are involved in the project via different partner companies. Each partner will contribute to the study in its area of expertise: helicopter design, systems integration, connectivity, weapons and effectors, avionics, and sensors.

The study will focus on high-performance rotorcraft. The concepts will be “modular and multi-mission”, fully interoperable with NATO standards, with a high level of connectivity and resilient communication systems.

Andy Adams, vice president, Lockheed Martin Sikorsky Future Vertical Lift said it had assembled a group of leading companies from European industry to support the execution of NGRC Study #5. This group of Tier-1 aerospace suppliers includes BAE Systems, ELT Group, ESG Elektroniksystem- und Logistik, GE Aerospace, Hellenic Aerospace Industry, Kongsberg, Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg, MAGroup, Malloy Aeronautics, SAFRAN, Rheinmetall and TERMA. The industry group will provide input as to how their world-class military products can support our integrated platform concept approach to advance NATO’s capabilities and provide a next generation rotorcraft solution" he added.