Will helicopters have a place in tomorrow’s war? Given the situation in Ukraine at the start of the war, the question seems to arise. But this is not the analysis made by General Pierre Meyer, commander of ALAT (Light Aviation of the Army), and Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters. “Ukrainian theater is high intensity with very violent confrontation and rapid attrition”, noted the general. But he warns of the risk of focusing on a single conflict and forgetting the added value brought by the helicopter, which is used for in-depth maneuvering. The helicopter allows complex missions with flying as close as possible to threats.
Bruno Even also warned against drawing hasty conclusions based on shortcuts, particularly in a fragile budgetary context. Among the lessons that can nevertheless be learned from the war in Ukraine, there is the question of transparency and the digitalization of the battlefield. They both insisted on the need for versatility of equipment and the renewed relevance of the combat helicopter. “But there is an evolution in the employment doctrine” depending on the terrain and type of conflict.
Complementarity with drones
The question that now arises is that of the evolution of technologies to meet new needs, in particular that of in-depth intervention, practiced by the ALAT, but also that of a lasting conflict. In these new conflicts, the drone will not replace, but will support the helicopter. “We intend to develop our own drones”underlined General Meyer, noting “that each weapon will have its own drones”. It will therefore be necessary to learn to use them even though their development cycle is much shorter than that of traditional platforms. Here again, Bruno Even warned about the images of the Ukrainian conflict: “We use drones due to lack of helicopters”.
In the future, there will be complementarity between the drone and the helicopter, the drone also making it possible to help the pilot. The technology is going elsewhere “release the pilot”, explained General Meyer. Airbus, for its part, is developing tactical drone solutions, with a connection between drones and helicopters. He also researches the droneization of helicopters.
Collaborative combat
But before moving on to breakthroughs in terms of uses or platforms, General Meyer was keen to underline the relevance of the current ALAT fleet, which will increase to three types: Tiger, Caïman (NH90) and Guépard ( H160). In this context, NATO projects with the NGRC (Next-Generation Rotorcraft Capability) register in response to a need. For General Meyer, there is “ a success factor for modular platforms that adapt”, with the possibility in particular of collaborative combat. He does not prioritize the issue of high speed, but that of the survivability of helicopters, in particular with the use of countermeasures, a lower acoustic signature and stealth, all at the same time. in terms of bearable costs for the army.
For Bruno Even, connectivity and autonomy, as well as high speed, are important points. He also notes that the Americans guaranteed the capacity of the Apache and Black Hawk until 2060 before launching a high-speed Fara concept, which was abandoned in February 2024.
What is certain is that the helicopter will not disappear from the battlefield. The relevance of the attack helicopter continues, and new tools – AI, sensors, connectivity with other devices or drones – will help lighten the pilot’s load. The question of equipment availability is on the right track, with a very strong increase since the implementation of vertical contracts for the MCO of platforms. This will be further increased with the quality of the equipment and the modernization of the fleet, in particular thanks to the arrival of the H160s.
