Essential for survival: The future of military rotorcraft

• This digital aspect is really another key strategic and important element for products, especially for future military.
• Special military systems, weapons, and FlytX avionics tailor it to military needs.
• Continuous development is also becoming something that operators and OEMs work on together.

In the increasingly challenging geopolitical situation, countries across the world are analysing how to ensure their armed forces remain as strong as possible. Airbus Helicopters’ Head of Programmes, Stefan Thomé, explains how the company’s policy of continuous development has built a range ready for essential missions.

“Military requirements especially drive innovation... because military products are built for either superiority or survival – or both,” says Stefan Thomé. While Airbus offers the largest dual range of civil and military helicopters on the market, Thomé is highlighting the key role that continuous development has in terms of delivering military helicopters that are designed and built to be decisive. Far from being a range of civil helicopters with some basic adaptation for military operations, the company’s military products are significantly enhanced by a series of ongoing innovations. For proof, Thomé also points to France’s H160M Guépard and the mid-life upgrade to the Tiger as two of Airbus Helicopters’ largest ongoing investments. Such improvements will also pave the way for the next generation of military rotorcraft.

Co-creating evolutions

Continuous development is also becoming something that operators and OEMs work on together. Previously, rigidly defined multi-year contracts agreed between OEM and client introduced new technologies, but there has been a shift in doctrine. “Those times are gone,” says Thomé. “Instead, militaries co-create, and co-develop solutions, industry and militaries together create solutions – that’s something new.” Thomé talks about Airbus Helicopters' products benefiting from an entire ecosystem that supports the development of new technologies. 

Bundeswehr's Airbus H145M

Universities, suppliers, partners and of course, Airbus’ own Innovation teams constantly research and test new possibilities. Ongoing capability demonstrations given to military operators then lead to the continuously evolving functionality at the heart of Airbus Helicopters’ products. “Modular architectures also provide the customers with the ability to plug in their own changes,” states Thomé. An example of this in the current range is the H145M. “The helicopter’s versatility means users can take this helicopter and quickly convert it from, let’s say, a training helicopter to a reconnaissance helicopter, and from a reconnaissance helicopter to a light attack helicopter,” points out Thomé. Continuous development of its connectivity technology puts the H145M firmly at the forefront, allowing it to act as a flying command post, like a node in a vital data network, dramatically reducing crew workload and enhancing situational awareness in the cockpit. 

Unsurprisingly, the company’s current pinnacle of continuous development in its military range is the H160M. Special military systems, weapons, and FlytX avionics tailor it to military needs. 

Connected to the future

Airbus’s in-service range of military products continues to evolve, and Thomé highlights the teaming capability, which “significantly extends the horizon of our helicopters. We intend to be drone agnostic, so it does not matter which drone we team with.” Of course, a future where teaming and connected battlefields co-exist necessitates further development. “Whenever you connect products, connectivity and sensors, then data is involved,” explains Thomé. “Receiving, sending, processing, and storing data, as well as data security, are becoming increasingly important. And we cannot think of our products – whether helicopters, drones, ground stations – in isolation. We need to think of them as networks. This digital aspect is really another key strategic and important element for products, especially for future military.”