Future Helicopters

[MilEME09]

Airbus diving into NTac and buulding in ontario

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-26/airbus-eyes-building-helicopters-in-canada-for-global-export?taid=6a161070fff9400001781543&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_content=business&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&embedded-checkout=true

 

[Kirkhill]

Grasshopper Aerial Resupply Vehicle - Aerial Resupply Drone - Logistics UAV Military

Grasshopper Aerial Resupply Vehicle by DZYNE Technologies is an aerial resupply drone built for logistics missions, enabling reliable delivery of supplies in contested and hard-to-reach environments.

dzyne.com

If helicopters will struggle to survive in the Line of Sight battle than they have been looking at Stand-Off missions and Logistical missions as alternate employment.

Some of those logistical missions are now being considered for Optionally Manned and Unmanned aircraft, either conversions of existing aircraft or newbuild UAVs.

Here is another alternative - a jet powered JPADs parachute delivery system that delivers 500 lb payloads from the back of a C295, C130 or C17.

Grasshopper Aerial Resupply Vehicle - Aerial Resupply Drone - Logistics UAV Military

Grasshopper Aerial Resupply Vehicle by DZYNE Technologies is an aerial resupply drone built for logistics missions, enabling reliable delivery of supplies in contested and hard-to-reach environments.

dzyne.com

...

How many years of service can we get out of the Griffons in purely domestic service?

The Grasshopper in service.

Green Berets tested glider drones for supply drops during a massive special operations exercise

Special Forces used expendable gliders to move supplies to units on the ground during the Trojan Footprint exercise in Europe this month.

taskandpurpose.com

 

[Kirkhill]

I wasn't sure whether to put this here with the rotorcraft, in the army section under the indirect fires or the GBAD-CUAS thread or the Direct Fire Support, or in the Navy under their UAS programmes.

Just a reminder - APKWS II has become an all-purpose goto weapon system for aerial and surface targets.

Survice Engineering has just hung a 3-pack underneath a Malloy T-150, known to the US Army as a TRV-150, and demonstrated it as a DFS vehicle.

Currently the APKWS II is deployed to the battlefield by the US Army using the Apache in combination with the Hellfire as a cheaper option for softer targets.

US Army turns resupply drone into rocket launcher in new test

Though the drone was designed to haul supplies across the battlefield, the Army recently tried turning it into a rocket launcher.

www.militarytimes.com

....

Another option for the Light Infantry Regiment - an aerial Bren Carrier / Jeep suitable for fire support and last-mile logistics in the CQ.

Royal Marines accomplish number of firsts in Arctic drone missions

Commando Logistic Regiment is unique in the Armed Forces for its eclectic mix of personnel, drawn from across the military disciplines.

www.royalnavy.mod.uk

https://mod.gov.ua/en/news/malloy-t-150-octocopter-uk-heavy-lift-drone-that-helped-destroy-a-bridge

....

There are bigger brothers

Malloy Aeronautics - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The T400 has been demonstrated for casevac
The T650 has been demonstrated launching a Stingray lightweight torpedo or carrying 3 Brimstone autonomous missiles.
The Brimstone 2, when launched from a rotorcraft can be fired in a fire and forget salvo to a range of up to 40 km depending on speed and altitude of the launch platform. When the launch plaform is stationary on the ground the range is the 10 to 12 km band.

 

[Cloud Cover]

Anduril Thunder seems promising. Not for Canada, of course…

Thunder | Anduril

Thunder is a Group 5 autonomous attack rotorcraft designed to multiply the combat power and increase the survivability of current and next-generation crewed attack and assault aircraft.

www.anduril.com

 

[armrdsoul77]

U.S. Army getting a new primary training helicopter because the current ones sophistication and automation can be used as a crutch for trainee pilots.

Army To Use Robinson R66 For Its New Helicopter Pilot Training Concept

Will this also be an issue with the RCAF 's CT-153 Juno?

 

[WestIsle]

Looks like blackhawks and seahawks are currently off the board due to ongoing politics. Heres hoping for the CH-148 Petrel

 

[Retired AF Guy]

Looks like blackhawks and seahawks are currently off the board due to ongoing politics. Heres hoping for the CH-148 Petrel

Source?

 

[suffolkowner]

Looks like blackhawks and seahawks are currently off the board due to ongoing politics. Heres hoping for the CH-148 Petrel

Blackhawks off the table for CANSOF as well?

 

[Swampbuggy]

Source?

It comes from Noah’s latest substack. I don’t think it’s fair to say they’re completely out of the running, rather there will actually be a running instead of sole sourcing. So, they’d have to compete. But, it looks like the talk (unfunded, no project office etc) of replacing the Cyclones is heavily tilted to wanting to join the Romeo in order to have better support. I’d personally rather they went with Merlin’s for commonality with Cormorants, but obviously there’s a strong reason to go Seahawks too.

 

[Retired AF Guy]

Blackhawks off the table for CANSOF as well?

From Noah's latest substack:

Are Blackhawk and Seahawk dead?​

This is one coming up today that I do wanna address quickly, both to clarify and give some words to it. To start, there is yet to be a choice made whether to procure either Blackhawks or Romeo. While we have long reported that there were proposals for both, and support among several groups, to replace Cyclone with Seahawk and sole-source Blackhawks for nTACS Phase I, there has never been an actual decision made to do either.

Now that this is out of the way, yes, we have heard a shift in mentality through the weekend and this week regarding the likelihood of both. Keeping in mind that these are rumors, we have been told that there is a leaning in government to run a competition for nTACS Phase I now over sole-sourcing the Blackhawks.

That has popped in the last week, and does not EXCLUDE the Blackhawks, but does mean the likelihood of a sole-source is minimal. That shouldn't be a shock, given the last week of tensions and back-and-forth. The Feds have been willing to sole-source American (HIMARS) and purchase American equipment (JLTV, CUAS) despite the last year of troubles, but this weekend overall seems to have been the straw that has broken the camel's back.

That isn't to say sole-sources are banned, but where there is even a chance of competition, there will very likely be a competition, even if an American product overwhelmingly dominates. The mentality for pushing this stuff through in spite of things, and keeping it relatively quiet, seems to be generally over on the government side.

We can still end up with Blackhawks, but they're gonna go through a proper competition. Now, on Seahawks, the general message I am getting in these very volatile, very early stages is it is different. Seahawk is not tied to a procurement, not a competition, and is generally considered the only viable option on the table that meets out the gate.

There is no planned Cyclone replacement on the books as of now, no funding, and no intention of a competition at this stage. That could change, but one needs to understand that the Seahawk debate is not necessarily the same as a sole-source capability of an on-the-books procurement.

Certain situations like this are a bit looser in terms of what is done and seen as acceptable, at least for now. That can obviously change; the reasoning, as we have discussed many times, has not changed. There is overwhelmingly a dominant position of the Seahawk in terms of cost, capabilities, and how quickly it can come online that no one else matches.

So, for now, there is not an "everyone American is out" mentality, dependent on the circumstances. There is no change to HIMARS, P-8, etc., nor are there any plans Federally to do so as I know it. All of that remains on the books.

So right now things are very emotional and volatile. We don't have all the answers, and things are in a very dynamic place. These things take time; relax a bit. We won't have decisions and choices made in the first few days.

Link

So it sounds like that the sole-source replacement for 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron (427 SOAS) is up in the air and will likely result in a competition. Sole-sourcing the MH-60R is still a possibility if I'm reading Noah correctly.

 

[dapaterson]

NTACS was split to try to squeeze the sole source Blackhawks for SOF when things were merely extremely tense with the US (staff recognized that the full Griffon replacement with Blackhawks and Apaches has too many zeroes after it to be palatable in that environment).

That the whole thing is now circling the drain is not a surprise.

 

[suffolkowner]

It comes from Noah’s latest substack. I don’t think it’s fair to say they’re completely out of the running, rather there will actually be a running instead of sole sourcing. So, they’d have to compete. But, it looks like the talk (unfunded, no project office etc) of replacing the Cyclones is heavily tilted to wanting to join the Romeo in order to have better support. I’d personally rather they went with Merlin’s for commonality with Cormorants, but obviously there’s a strong reason to go Seahawks too.

101's might not have as good an upgrade path certainty?
might be longer delivery time? IMP build?
require hanger modifications for Halifax class?

 

[armrdsoul77]

If they are not going to make a go of the Cyclone in the maritime role could they use those airframes for the SOF and to replace some of the Griffons with it? Take out the ASW gear and cover over any holes in the fuselage. I believe there is still an 85% commonality with the S-92. The folding rotors/tail making it easier to transport/deploy when needed.

 

[markppcli]

If they are not going to make a go of the Cyclone in the maritime role could they use those airframes for the SOF and to replace some of the Griffons with it? Take out the ASW gear and cover over any holes in the fuselage. I believe there is still an 85% commonality with the S-92. The folding rotors/tail making it easier to transport/deploy when needed.

You think sof wants an unreliable helicopter ?

 

[Good2Golf]

If they are not going to make a go of the Cyclone in the maritime role could they use those airframes for the SOF and to replace some of the Griffons with it? Take out the ASW gear and cover over any holes in the fuselage. I believe there is still an 85% commonality with the S-92. The folding rotors/tail making it easier to transport/deploy when needed.

No. No. No. The Cyclone quite honestly was an interim Super Hornet BS idea to cover up the stupidity of Chretien cancelling the Merlin. A dumb idea that actually made in past the ‘procurement and common sense Commisionaires’ at the system’s front gate.

 

[armrdsoul77]

You think sof wants an unreliable helicopter ?

Replace the bespoke ASW Cyclone gear so there is not a parts scarcity. Definitely a more capable airframe than a Griffon(but still a militarised civilian helicopter). We have 27 airframes seems a waste to not repurpose them(or is Sikorsky/LM going to allow us to trade in for Seahawks?).

The Cyclone quite honestly was an interim Super Hornet BS idea to cover up the stupidity of Chretien cancelling the Merlin.

You are saying the Cyclone was only an interim solution? I

 

[dapaterson]

"Seems a waste not to repurpose them" is how we end up wit the most expensive fleet per hour of flight in the CAF.

The CAF's unofficial motto appears to be the sunk cost fallacy.

 

[markppcli]

Replace the bespoke ASW Cyclone gear so there is not a parts scarcity. Definitely a more capable airframe than a Griffon(but still a militarised civilian helicopter). We have 27 airframes seems a waste to not repurpose them(or is Sikorsky/LM going to allow us to trade in for Seahawks?).


You are saying the Cyclone was only an interim solution? I

Oh so just completely retrofit the helicopter and have it do a new mission. That will certainly be efficient, cost effective, timely, and result in an effective product.

 

[suffolkowner]

Replace the bespoke ASW Cyclone gear so there is not a parts scarcity. Definitely a more capable airframe than a Griffon(but still a militarised civilian helicopter). We have 27 airframes seems a waste to not repurpose them(or is Sikorsky/LM going to allow us to trade in for Seahawks?).


You are saying the Cyclone was only an interim solution? I

best thing is probably for them to go back in exchange for Seahawks and be stripped for whatever parts that can be. Unfortunately the current political situation is not condusive to that

 

[Swampbuggy]

101's might not have as good an upgrade path certainty?
might be longer delivery time? IMP build?
require hanger modifications for Halifax class?

Quite possibly. As I said, the case for Seahawk is strong. But, you would also have to decide if it’s as effective a ship extension as a Cyclone or Merlin. If you cut Cyclone short, do the benefits of the commonality with Cormorant combined with the range, lift capacity and endurance of a Merlin outweigh the support and tidiness of a Romeo package? That’s a decision that would have to be made. As for hangar space, obviously you would need to account for HALIFAX, JSS and RCD. For sure, it’s not just a slam dunk rotate one out rotate the other in.