MARIGNANE -- Airbus Helicopters believes its high-speed compound rotorcraft technology, demonstrated by the Racer, is more likely to enter service first on a military platform rather than a civil helicopter. The Racer, developed with support from the EU’s Clean Sky 2 program, has reached speeds of 240 knots while demonstrating potential improvements in efficiency and noise reduction.
Airbus CEO Matthieu Louvot says the added speed capability provides greater value for military users, where higher performance may justify the increased cost and complexity. Airbus and Leonardo are also advancing future military rotorcraft technologies through the European Next Generation Rotorcraft Technology (ENGRT) initiative, focused on areas such as open architectures, autonomy, and crewed-uncrewed teaming. However, a final aircraft design remains undecided, with Airbus favoring a Racer-like compound configuration and Leonardo supporting tiltrotor concepts. Airbus also sees growing demand for autonomous helicopters, including potential unmanned variants beyond its recently unveiled U145 cargo helicopter.
