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Airbus and Leonardo to Launch NH90 BLOCK 2 Studies Responding to a Request From NAHEMA
Responding to a request from NAHEMA (NATO Helicopter Management Agency), Airbus Helicopters and Leonardo are joining forces to carry out an architecture study to define the basis of the NH90 long-term evolution, known as Block 2.
The Block 2 upgrade will include key structural improvements to the aircraft such
as modular avionics, greater
configuration commonality, improved maintenance and performance, as well as new capabilities in collaborative combat, connectivity and crewed-uncrewed teaming. The study is expected to be contracted with NAHEMA this year. It should allow nations to decide the next steps for
the Block 2 evolution in a timeframe coherent with other ongoing studies on next-generation capabilities and technologies.
32 July/Aug 2025
“There are several studies running at the moment at NATO, EU, and national levels to assess the future of military helicopters,” said Bruno Even, CEO of
Airbus Helicopters. “Together with
Leonardo we believe that the NH90 will have a central role to play in the future of European defense capabilities. The NH90 Block 2 evolution will benefit from some of the technologies being investigated
by the European Next
Generation Rotorcraft Technologies study that we are collaborating on in partnership with Leonardo.”
“The NH90 Block 2 study clearly complements on the longer term the evolution roadmap of the NH90 for which a major step based on the Software Release 3 contract (also called Block 1) had already been outlined last year,” said Gian Piero Cutillo, managing director of Leonardo Helicopters. “We’re committed to delivering a study able to meet NAHEMA’s expectations as
well as bearing in mind nations’ needs and their evolving rotorcraft capability requirements.”
In May 2024 NAHEMA and NHIndustries (NHI) signed a short-to-medium term program enhancement plan known as Block 1 (also called Software Release 3), involving various nations, to boost their in-service fleets’ capabilities in terms of tactical information, data exchange, sensors, navigation and weapon integration. The Block 2 architecture study will
of course capitalize on the
Block 1 upgrade. The
teaming between the two
manufacturers stems also from the memorandum of understanding signed between the two partners in July 2024, with the ultimate goal to perform an extensive analysis of the NH90 helicopter program status and explore future potential solutions for its evolution.
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