The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) participated with a keynote speaker in the Helitech Expo taking place 24-25 September in London, UK.
On the first day of the conference, Mr Cyril Heckel, NSPA Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) Programme Manager, provided the audience with an update on the capability studies that would address the programme requirements.
In particular, he presented the findings of the first Novel Powerplant Study awarded in December 2023 to GE Aerospace. The company studied various engine configurations to evaluate the technical and operational aspects focusing on: cost, mission and technological readiness levels, interoperability, operating environment, supply and logistics.
The study outcome resulted in a recommendation to target first the next Generation (2025) Gas turbine asset, before monitoring a spiral development to next Generation 2035 and later Hybrid electric.
Mr Heckel also offered the audience an overview of the NGRC Study #3 on Open System Architecture (OSA). This research aims to provide NSPA with the knowledge and understanding of relevant OSAs and their enabling digital ecosystems to help inform assessment of future integrated platform concepts to inform Study #5.
This last study was awarded to three contractors, Airbus Helicopter, Leonardo and Sikorsky, on 1st August. Each of the 3 contractors will provide valuable, independent perspectives on potential integrated platform concepts that can meet the NGRC challenge, aiming to identify and exploit cutting-edge technologies to meet the NGRC operational and supportability capabilities, as well as seeking innovation in digital design and development processes and advanced materials and manufacturing. Currently, the three contractors are working to deliver, each of them, up to two NGRC Concepts by Q3 2025.
The NGRC Programme will next focus on the concept design activities in 2026-2027 and target to have a preferred solution by the end of 2027.
About the NGRC Programme
A significant amount of the medium multi-role assets currently in service across NATO Allies will reach the end of their life cycle in the 2035-40 period and beyond, with the subsequent need for replacements. These inventories are all based on designs dating back to the previous century. The aim of the Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) is to respond to this upcoming requirement, in a timely and cost-effective manner, while concurrently leveraging a broad range of recent advances in technology, production methods, and operational concepts.
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