DEFENCE
ightglobal.com 5-11 June 2018 | Flight International | 25
Narrowbodies
keep on climbing
Data View P26ROTORCRAFT DOMINIC PERRY PRAGUE
UK confirms interest in FVL programme
British Army studies identify US activity as aligning with needs, with a potential European alternative yet to emerge
A
senior British Army officer
says the UK military is still
evaluating how to replace its
medium-category transport heli-
copters, and warned European
industry that unless it develops
a future rotorcraft that offers a
step-change in speed and range
capability, then it may instead
select US-built products.
The Royal Air Force’s fleet of
Airbus Helicopters Puma HC2s
has a current planned out-of-ser-
vice date of 2025, followed by
the Royal Navy’s Leonardo Heli-
copters AW101 Merlin HM2s
and Merlin HC4/4As in 2029
and 2030, respectively. Howev-
er, work is ongoing to under-
stand the feasibility of extending
their service lives.
Speaking at SMi’s Helicopter
Technology Central and Eastern
Europe conference in Prague on
23 May, Army Air Corps Lt Col
David Amlot said that if replace-
ment of the two types were de-
layed, the timeline could “effec-
tively align” with the
introduction of the US military’s
Future Vertical Lift (FVL) capa-
bility.
MORE SPEED
Although FVL is not yet a US
programme of record, a technolo-
gy demonstration phase is under
way, with Bell developing its
V-280 Valor tiltrotor and a Sikor-
sky-Boeing team working on the
SB-1 Defiant compound rotor-
craft. Both are designed to fly
faster and further than the US Ar-
my’s current Sikorsky UH-60
Black Hawks.
If FVL is launched on schedule,
and focused first on the medium-
weight class, it would deliver a
new helicopter in the mid-2030s.
However, recent statements from
the US Army have hinted that a
lighter helicopter for the armed
scout mission may become its pri-
ority, with a so-called Capability
Set 1 type sought to replace its al-
ready retired Bell OH-58D/F
Kiowa Warriors.
Amlot says the UK is looking
for a “revolution” in perfor-
mance, with a desired speed,
range and performance not
achieved by conventional rotor-
craft designs.
“We are keen to know if any
other manufacturer is doing
something similar to Bell or
Sikorsky, but our studies to date
have not revealed anything,” he
says. “If we want to be truly rev-
olutionary in terms of our capa-
bility, we only see one pro-
gramme out there.”
While Amlot acknowledges
that London is “not committed to
following FVL”, since a direct pro-
curement from the USA would
not fully support the UK’s indus-
trial agenda, “it is the programme
we are most closely aligned to”.
During market surveys of Eu-
rope’s helicopter manufacturers,
none of their current or develop-
ment programmes can fly “revo-
lutionary degrees faster”, he
notes. While Airbus Helicopters’
H160M represents advances in
acoustic signature and the use of
carbonfibre, it is “not in the area
we anticipate the need to service
in the 2030-2040 timeframe”, he
says, adding that despite its
clean-sheet nature, the design is
“still based on 1960s rotorcraft
technology”.British Army studies suggest
that orders for around 800 units
would be required to support a
“bespoke” European develop-
ment programme, but that mili-
taries across the continent re-
quire no more than 450
medium-class helicopters in the
2030-2040 period. However,
separate forecasts from a NATO
working group and Leonardo
Helicopters put the figure at over
900 such aircraft – excluding
those operated by the USA – re-
quiring replacement by 2045.CIVIL FOCUS
Airbus Helicopters and Leonardo
Helicopters are both working on
high-speed rotorcraft – respec-
tively the Racer compound heli-
copter and AW609 and next-gen-
eration civil tiltrotor – but these
are predominantly for the civil
sector.
NATO member states could
collectively drive the launch of ahigh-speed military rotorcraft
programme, with initial scoping
studies underway.
“As long as we make a start
fairly soon we can develop a
new system within NATO to re-
place a number of helicopters
starting in the 2030s,” says Pat
Collins, from the UK’s Defence
Equipment and Support pro-
curement body, who has co-
chaired the science and technol-
ogy element of the Alliance’s
study. “It really needs buy-in
from a number of nations to say
‘this is what we want from that
timeframe’,” he adds.
Meanwhile, US Marine Corps
officials are seeking clarity from
army counterparts over their ser-
vice’s priorities for the FVL pro-
gramme.
The USMC is most interested
in a medium-class FVL rotorcraft
to replace its Bell UH-1Ys in the
2040s, H-1 programme manager
Col David Walsh told the confer-
ence. The service will need an
aircraft capable of escorting its
Bell Boeing MV-22 Osprey tiltro-
tors, since “the H-1 in its current
form can’t keep up”.
“There is an analysis of alter-
natives going on between the
marines and the army, to see if
we can come to some common
solution,” Walsh says. ■Royal Air Force’s Puma HC2 medium-lift helicopters are currently scheduled for retirement by 2025Crown Copyright“We are keen to
know if any other
manufacturer is doing
something similar to
Bell or Sikorsky”
Lt Col David Amlot
British Army Air Corps