Future Transport Helicopter
| Future Transport Helicopter | |
|---|---|
| Type: | Heavy transport helicopter |
| Design country: | |
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The Future Transport Helicopter , or FTH for short, is a project for a heavy transport helicopter from Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter). The study is currently still in the analysis phase; the European countries involved would like further partners , preferably US partners. In September 2012, a cooperation agreement was signed with Boeing .
history
After the German Army Aviation Troops and the French Defense Technology Authority (DGA) had laid down the basic requirements for a new, heavy transport helicopter at the end of 2003, studies were carried out at Eurocopter to develop a successor to the aging CH-53G / GS helicopter. In the spring of 2004, however, it became known that there would be no funds available for development in the near future and that such a project could only be tackled in 2015.
In February 2006, the Federal Office for Defense Technology and Procurement in Koblenz asked Eurocopter about the HTH.
In March 2006, Eurocopter announced that a Heavy Transport Helicopter (HTH, later renamed FTH) would not be available until 2018 at the earliest, provided that cooperation with another company and development start in 2010. The focus is currently on the second company involved to the company Sikorsky , which is already developing the CH-53K for the US Marine Corps .
In May 2009 the EU defense ministers decided to make this project a European one. Representatives from the USA were also invited.
A cooperation agreement signed with Boeing's Mobility division in September 2012 means that the American aviation company will invest in a sufficient market and a product that is of interest to Boeing.
In a reply to a major inquiry from the SPD in April 2013, it became known that a completely new development had been discarded for reasons of cost (see page 139 of the above-mentioned reply from the federal government). The European Defense Agency is investigating a further development of already existing helicopter systems.
background
In order to be able to replace machines like the CH-53 or the Chinook , the NATO countries need a helicopter that can meet the requirements that have increased steadily in the past. These include:
- Movable rotor head with rotor blades made of high-performance composite materials
- Glass cockpit with 4-axis autopilot and sensors for all-weather suitability
- Fly-by-wire or fly-by-light
- Modular ballistic protection
- Cell made of fiber composite materials
- reduced signature
In the spring of 2004, Eurocopter determined that the FTH program would be ideal for international cooperation. Above all, a transatlantic partnership would be desirable in order to reduce the immense development and production costs.
In 2009 Germany saw a demand of 40 and France of 20.
Web links
- Standing graphic study ( memento from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- Graphic study on the fly ( Memento from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Craig Hoyle: ILA: Heavy transport helicopter design comes to life. Flightglobal, September 13, 2012, accessed October 19, 2012 .
- ↑ Handelsblatt : EU decides to build helicopters on May 19, 2009; Accessed May 19, 2009
- ↑ European Defense Agency : EDA and Commission to work closely together on research of May 18, 2009; Accessed May 20, 2009
- ↑ Answer of the Federal Government to the big question of the MPs Rainer Arnold, Dr Hans-Peter Bartels, Bernhard Brinkmann (Hildesheim), other MPs and the parliamentary group of the SPD - printed matter 17/9620. (pdf 5.4 MB) Bundestag, April 24, 2013, accessed on May 16, 2013 .
- ↑ geopowers reports from Handelsblatt-Tag . Statement from Lutz Bertling , then CEO of Eurocopter.