NAHEMA has signed a contract with NHIndustries—comprising Airbus, Leonardo, and GKN Aerospace—for a two-year NH90 Block 2 architecture study targeting 2040+ operations with crewed-uncrewed teaming. The upgrade focuses on modular avionics, enhanced performance, and collaborative combat capabilities to extend the helicopter’s service life into the 2050s.
This study builds directly on the ongoing Block 1 program, ensuring industrial continuity while introducing structural changes for greater configuration commonality and maintainability. It responds to operator feedback from recent conferences, prioritizing extended range, reduced maintenance, and electronic warfare upgrades.
Key enhancements under evaluation include a revised fly-by-wire system to cut pilot workload, weight reduction to boost maximum takeoff weight to 11.5 tonnes, and advanced weaponry like air-to-ground missiles and rockets. Engine options from GE Aerospace and Safran aim for higher power without major redesigns.
The platform will integrate networked operations for manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T), drawing from European Next Generation Rotorcraft Technologies initiatives. This matters for NATO as it sustains a multirole fleet amid evolving threats, offering retrofit and new-build paths for cost efficiency.
Results are due by 2027, allowing nations to shape final specifications amid parallel EU and national rotorcraft efforts.