Berlin, Germany. Airbus Helicopters has introduced an uncrewed version of its proven H145, the U145, during ILA Berlin airshow, where the company has displayed a full-scale mock-up of the new model. The U145 complements Airbus’ helicopter and uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) offering. A maiden flight with a safety pilot onboard is planned for the end of 2026, with entry into service at the beginning of the next decade.
“With the U145, we are offering our customers an autonomous, uncrewed version of our H145 helicopter – combining the proven airframe, power and useful load of the H145 with the autonomy of a UAS,” said Matthieu Louvot, CEO of Airbus Helicopters. “To develop the U145 and its capabilities as a multi-mission UAS, we will be teaming up with leading autonomous mission partners to further expand the UAS ecosystem in Europe,” he added.
The H145 is the second crewed helicopter Airbus is converting into an uncrewed version, following the VSR700, which is derived from the Cabri G2. The U145 will feature a specialised sensor suite and artificial intelligence for full autonomy. Compared with a crewed H145 helicopter, the U145 will have no physical cockpit, and will include significant adaptations for cargo, such as an integrated nose door including a foldable loading table and a dedicated cargo floor.
With a Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) of 3,800 kg, the U145 is being developed as a mission-agnostic solution for civil and military applications, primarily high-volume cargo supply. Its modular design supports expansion into roles like disaster management, firefighting, armed scouting, surveillance, drone mothership functionality for air launched effects, where Airbus is partnering with MBDA, as well as crewed-uncrewed teaming.
In the United States, Airbus U.S. Space & Defense is, together with its partners Shield AI, L3 Harris and Parry Lab, offering the US Marine Corps a dedicated US development, the MQ-72C, which is a fully autonomous variant of the well proven Lakota UH-72B, tailored to their specific needs.
In total, there are more than 1,800 H145 family helicopters in service for military, parapublic and civil missions, logging a total of more than 8.5 million flight hours. Powered by two Safran Arriel 2E engines, the H145 is equipped with a full authority digital engine control (FADEC). Its particularly low acoustic footprint makes the H145 the quietest helicopter in its class, while its CO2 emissions are the lowest amongst its competitors.
Airbus offers a comprehensive range of uncrewed aerial systems across its Helicopters and Defence and Space divisions. The entire range has been renamed to align with its helicopter and fixed wing products.
