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Oct 20 2022

NSPA contributes to Global Defence Helicopter event

The Global Defence Helicopter event gathered in Warsaw participants from the industry and the military community to learn and discuss about future rotorcraft capabilities and platforms, and innovations in the area.

Mr Cyril Heckel, NSPA's Principal Acquisition and Life Cycle Management Officer, presented the NGRC programme on the first day, highlighting NSPA's principles applied to multinational acquisition, together with a full update on the NGRC programme, its current status and its next steps.

A significant amount of the current helicopter fleets in service with Allies will reach the end of their life cycle in the 2035-40 period and beyond, with the subsequent need for replacements. The Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability offers a multinational framework under which its participants can combine efforts towards the design, the development and eventually the acquisition of the next generation of medium multi-role rotorcraft capabilities.

The NGRC constitutes one of NATO's multinational High Visibility Projects and demonstrates NATO Allies' commitment to maintain a technological edge and to pursue multinational cooperation. NSPA is executing the Concept Stage on behalf of participating nations.

The NGRC's promising concept stage expectations target the design of a modular and single-variant solution that is operationally available and extremely cost effective. Complementary, the planned studies should give an understanding of a variety of aspects, from implementing alternative energies, and researching current and next technological rotorcraft systems, to establishing non-proprietary NGRC modular system architecture

Mr Cyril Heckel, NSPA's Principal Acquisition and Life Cycle Management Officer

Mr Cyril Heckel, NSPA's Principal Acquisition and Life Cycle Management Officer

Mr Daniele Cucchi, NSPA's Aviation Support Programme Manager

On day two, Mr Daniele Cucchi, NSPA's Aviation Support Programme Manager briefed the conference attendees on NSPA capabilities to sustain helicopter legacy fleets.

In the upcoming decades more than 900 NATO helicopters, excluding the US, will reach the end of their life. NSPA could facilitate their upgrade and sustainment through specific contractual solutions, consolidating similar requirements from the NATO Nations

Mr Daniele Cucchi, NSPA's Aviation Support Programme Manager

NSPA, through the Helicopter Support Partnership, provides different types of support to twelve NATO Nations on several helicopter platforms, including aircraft major modifications and upgrades, maintenance, repair & overhaul (MRO), spare parts supply, flight simulator procurement & upgrade, Firefighting wet lease and commercial off-the-shelf helicopter procurement.