Airbus to lead NATO NGRC concept study

The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) has awarded a contract to Airbus Helicopters to lead a concept study in the frame of  the Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) project under which the participants combine efforts to work on design, development and delivery of a medium multi-role helicopter. Airbus is partnering with RTX’s Collins Aerospace and Raytheon businesses and MBDA for the 13 month study which will analyse two integrated concepts of next generation military rotorcraft. 

“Taking part in this NATO study for the next generation of military rotorcraft offers a unique opportunity to leverage our experience working with the different European armed forces,” said Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters. “Our goal, together with our highly skilled partners, is to develop a European solution, a concept that would fulfill both the needs of the NATO armed forces while also guaranteeing industrial sovereignty for our European nations and maintaining key engineering competencies,” he added. “This project will be fully interoperable with other NATO means. With our experience in both civil and military helicopter design, we are convinced that we have the right cost effective, high performance, and operationally efficient solutions at Airbus Helicopters for the next generation of military rotorcraft.”

NSPA General Manager, Ms Stacy A. Cummings, said: “The launch of Concept Study #5 is a significant milestone for the NGRC concept stage activities, and demonstrates NSPA’s dedication to meet the challenge of next generation medium lift for participating nations. The strategy to launch 3 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.”

France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Ireland and Italy are involved in the project via the 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, and fully interoperable with NATO standards. with a high degree of connectivity and resilient communication system.

More than 140 armed forces worldwide place their trust in Airbus’ helicopters, making Airbus one of the world's largest suppliers of advanced military rotorcraft. Its broad range of helicopters comprises dual platforms (like the combat proven H225M and the H145M) and specialised military helicopters like the Tiger and the NH90. Airbus also offers a broad range of unmanned systems and is developing the potential provided by manned-unmanned teaming. Airbus has a strong track record in federating European and global players to deliver ambitious projects such as the Next Generation Rotorcraft.  

The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) is NATO’s lead organisation for multinational acquisition, support and sustainment in all domains. NSPA is headquartered in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, with main operational centres in France, Hungary and Italy. The Agency employs over 1,500 staff and oversees more than 500 contractors worldwide.

.

Ben Wallace snipes at Ukraine....

Ben Wallace, the UK's Defence Secretary has taken another swipe at the Ukrainian regime telling President Volodymyr Zelensky he should show more "gratitude" to Western nations for the weapons supplied and saying the U.S. and the UK are not "Amazon". Wallace said "I said to the Ukrainians last year, when I drove 11 hours to [Kyiv] be given a list - I said, I am not Amazon."

Wallace reportedly told Zelensky this at a meeting during the NATO summit in Vilnius and then repeated the comments during various media interviews.  The remarks are another blow for Zelensky who failed to get a clear timeframe for Ukraine's entry into NATO and other 'conditions' that Ukraine is required to meet which have not yet been fully disclosed. NATO leaders confirmed this week that Ukraine would only be permitted to join the alliance "when allies agree and conditions are met".  It is being reported that currently, the USA, UK and Turkey are all against Ukraine's entry and a small number of other nations have not yet openly commented.  

However,  the summit was not all bad news for Ukraine, there were a number of commitments to supply more equipment to the war-torn nation.  The UK has pledged to supply 70 logistic and combat vehicles, ammunition for Challenger 2 tanks and support package for equipment repair.  The UK will also join a NATO project to establish a medical rehabilitation centre for Ukrainian soldiers.

Germany has finalised a €700million package for Ukraine which includes two Patriot defences systems, 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles, as well as some more tanks and ammunition. France has said it will supply additional long range cruise missiles and Norway will increase its military support to Ukraine by 2.5 billion crowns this year to 10 billion.

Russia plans to display NATO equipment it has destroyed in Ukraine outside the embassies of Western countries that supplied it, parliamentary speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said on Wednesday.

"The proposal to install burned equipment next to the embassies of those countries that send it to Ukraine is especially interesting," said Volodin, who issued orders for such a display to be organised.

Boeing-NATO PROJECT X Challenge Spurs Innovative Ideas for Future Autonomous Capabilities

The joint Boeing – NATO PROJECT X innovation challenge has generated new ideas for autonomous systems to reach inaccessible locations and improve situation awareness. This three-month-long intense rapid-prototyping competition allowed innovators from Dutch universities, including the Technical University of Delft, the opportunity to propose new approaches to supporting the Alliance’s most pressing needs.

Robert Weaver, deputy assistant secretary-general for Defence Investment at NATO, highlighted the importance of autonomy and its digital enablers in areas such as data and artificial intelligence. “Project X sets a benchmark for new and creative ways to engage academia and industry and help Allies develop and adopt emerging technologies at the speed of relevance,” said Weaver.

“This project is a fantastic example of the great potential within such public-private partnerships and the speed of innovation we can achieve if we inspire young innovators to apply a unique and creative approach to tackling tomorrow’s challenges,” said Kim Stollar, managing director, EU & NATO Government Affairs at Boeing International. “We all agree that there is a bright future ahead of all of the PROJECT X participants.”

The two competing PROJECT X teams presented their concepts at an event in May hosted by Unmanned Valley, an autonomous technology incubator in Valkenburg, Netherlands.

“Surrounded by the leading experts from NATO, Boeing, and an incredible team, PROJECT X has given me the opportunity to finally put theory into practice, which resulted in a highly fruitful and rewarding experience that opened up a new range of opportunities,” said Dennis van Eck van der Sluijs during his team’s final presentation.

Different approaches