New Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) is the program that the defense industry's Italy, France, Germany, England e Greece is looking to finalize to build and operate a helicopter with next-generation capabilities starting in 2035. The NATO partners, signatories of a letter of intent, will have five years to develop a machine capable of replacing the current multirole rotary wing aircraft that will end their operational life cycle between 2035 and 2040.
The best known program, now obsolete, is theNH90In line from back in 1995 which was attended by AgustaWestland, Eurocopter and Stork-Fokker Aerospace.
The NH90 has been used since 2007 by the German armed forces and since 2008 by the Italian ones, subsequently it has been used by France, Belgium, Australia and Greece.
The letter of intent between the five NATO countries was signed last Thursday on the sidelines of the ministerial of October 2020 between the Chiefs of Defense.
The details and costs of the program and the participation fees of the individual nations are not yet known. We therefore remain awaiting the drafting and signature of the Memorandum of Understanding among the defense ministers of Italy, France, England, Germany and Greece, who in the meantime may also join other NATO allies and partners.
The five signatory countries of the letter of intent will have to present, in the meantime, the list of the desired technical requirements to finalize the basis on which to set the design phase which will then lead to defining the characteristics of the new helicopter which will see the first funding start of work as early as 2021.
Thus the deputy secretary general of NATO Geoana It commented on the important initiative that opens to a wider collaboration of national industries of Defense of five of the most important NATO countries: "By investing our resources and channeling our development initiatives through a multinational framework, we ensure that allies are equipped with the best capabilities available, while maintaining the technological edge."
The new helicopter resulting from the program NGRC offers high capacity and versatility for military tactical transport in operational theaters, for special forces insertion and exfiltration operations as well as for the transport of limited war loads, so it could also be used in search and rescue and antisom missions.
Not only the European industry but also the American one is moving to try to occupy an important slice of the market. In the US, a program will start at the end of the year, the new multi-role medium helicopter called Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) to which the manufacturer Beli - Textron group - aspires together with Lockheed-Martin on the one hand and a division composed of Boeing with Sikorsky on the other.
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