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Development strategies are crystallizing for a new heavy-lift helicopter with the European Defense Agency release of a request for information and NATO working on turning an alliance staff target for such a rotorcraft into an actual requirement.
One key design feature involves carrying a load internally, rather than using sling loads. Aarne Kreuzinger-Janik, German air force chief of staff, wants the helo to carry 70 troops (or 13-15 metric tons of payload) with a range of 300 km. (185 mi.) in difficult environmental conditions. The system would be in the 80,000-lb. class.
Eurocopter and Boeing are jointly preparing for the Future Transport Helicopter (FTH) project, a potentially cooperative venture between the U.S. and several European states. The goal would be to provide the U.S. Army with a CH-47 replacement. In Germany, the FTH is aimed at replacing CH53s, while France wants to establish a heavy-lift capability it now lacks.
The exact work allocation between Boeing and Eurocopter is not set; but under the terms of the initial agreement, Boeing would serve as the prime contractor for any U.S. activity and Eurocopter would do the same in Europe, says Eurocopter CEO Lutz Bertling. The goal is to have a heavy-lift capability available around 2020.
Boeings director for rotorcraft strategy, David L. Jones, notes that the cabin size will be key and has to be about the same as a C-130s.
If a U.S.-European FTH project goes forward, it could provide the only meaningful transatlantic effort for the foreseeable future, Bertling asserts.
He says the FTH plan being devised by his company and Boeing relies on the use of the latest available technology. [But] we want to avoid the errors we have had in the past, he says, acknowledging development hurdles on other new rotorcraft projects. Jones says the systems should be at a technology-readiness Level 6, where they have been demonstrated.
In addition, Bertling says workshare will be allocated by capability, rather than apportioned to allow a company to build a technology skill it currently lacks.
But the Boeing/Eurocopter team is not unchallenged. Sikorsky is proposing the CH-53K now in development for the U.S. Marine Corps. It would provide the ideal jumping-off point to meet the heavy-lift need.
Joseph Gigantelli, Sikorskys vice president for sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, says efforts now underway to build industrial ties in Germany for the Cyclone represent a good stepping stone to introduce the CH-53K in Europe.
On the engine side, Germanys MTU is throwing its weight behind using the GE38 for the new rotorcraft, a program in which it has taken a strategic stake. The GE38 powers the CH-53K already.
Jones adds that the Rolls-Royce AE1107C would also provide a suitable engine along with the GE38.
Bidders Prepare For FTH Program | AVIATION WEEK
One key design feature involves carrying a load internally, rather than using sling loads. Aarne Kreuzinger-Janik, German air force chief of staff, wants the helo to carry 70 troops (or 13-15 metric tons of payload) with a range of 300 km. (185 mi.) in difficult environmental conditions. The system would be in the 80,000-lb. class.
Eurocopter and Boeing are jointly preparing for the Future Transport Helicopter (FTH) project, a potentially cooperative venture between the U.S. and several European states. The goal would be to provide the U.S. Army with a CH-47 replacement. In Germany, the FTH is aimed at replacing CH53s, while France wants to establish a heavy-lift capability it now lacks.
The exact work allocation between Boeing and Eurocopter is not set; but under the terms of the initial agreement, Boeing would serve as the prime contractor for any U.S. activity and Eurocopter would do the same in Europe, says Eurocopter CEO Lutz Bertling. The goal is to have a heavy-lift capability available around 2020.
Boeings director for rotorcraft strategy, David L. Jones, notes that the cabin size will be key and has to be about the same as a C-130s.
If a U.S.-European FTH project goes forward, it could provide the only meaningful transatlantic effort for the foreseeable future, Bertling asserts.
He says the FTH plan being devised by his company and Boeing relies on the use of the latest available technology. [But] we want to avoid the errors we have had in the past, he says, acknowledging development hurdles on other new rotorcraft projects. Jones says the systems should be at a technology-readiness Level 6, where they have been demonstrated.
In addition, Bertling says workshare will be allocated by capability, rather than apportioned to allow a company to build a technology skill it currently lacks.
But the Boeing/Eurocopter team is not unchallenged. Sikorsky is proposing the CH-53K now in development for the U.S. Marine Corps. It would provide the ideal jumping-off point to meet the heavy-lift need.
Joseph Gigantelli, Sikorskys vice president for sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, says efforts now underway to build industrial ties in Germany for the Cyclone represent a good stepping stone to introduce the CH-53K in Europe.
On the engine side, Germanys MTU is throwing its weight behind using the GE38 for the new rotorcraft, a program in which it has taken a strategic stake. The GE38 powers the CH-53K already.
Jones adds that the Rolls-Royce AE1107C would also provide a suitable engine along with the GE38.
Bidders Prepare For FTH Program | AVIATION WEEK
