Airbus flies second prototype of France’s future helicopter
A second prototype of France’s next military helicopter just left the ground for the first time, and it did so wearing an all-black paint job that makes the aircraft look considerably more menacing than the calm, ambulance-style rescue helicopters most people associate with the civilian version.
Airbus Helicopters announced that Prototype 2 of the military H160M has officially taken to the skies for its very first flight, describing the milestone as proof the H160M family is growing and drawing attention to the aircraft’s debut in a sleek, all-black color scheme that sets it apart from the earlier prototype.
The H160M, nicknamed Guépard, French for cheetah, is the militarized version of Airbus’s civilian H160 medium helicopter, developed specifically for France’s Joint Light Helicopter Program, an effort to consolidate the French Army, Navy, and Air and Space Force onto a single common helicopter platform rather than each branch operating its own separate, aging aircraft types.
France plans to acquire 169 H160M helicopters under the program, replacing five different helicopter types currently in service or recently retired, including the Gazelle, Alouette III, Dauphin, Panther, and Fennec, a consolidation that should simplify training, maintenance, and spare parts logistics across the entire French military rather than maintaining separate supply chains for multiple aging airframes. Airbus is building three flying prototypes to accelerate the program’s development timeline, with the first prototype having completed its own maiden flight on July 18, 2025, logging more than 72 flight hours in testing focused primarily on validating the aircraft’s basic flight performance ahead of weapons firing trials scheduled for 2026.
Prototype 2, the aircraft that just completed its first flight, carries a different testing mission than its predecessor. Airbus has said the second prototype will undergo environmental testing in extreme temperatures, commonly called hot and cold weather campaigns, subjecting the helicopter to conditions ranging from desert heat to arctic cold to confirm its systems function reliably across the full range of climates French forces might operate in around the world. Benoit Klein, head of the H160 program at Airbus, described the broader test campaign’s progress in positive terms during a briefing earlier in 2026, noting that pilot feedback on the first prototype had been strong and calling it a good start for the military variant’s development.
The H160M carries a notably different equipment package than the civilian H160 it’s built from, reflecting the demands of military operations rather than commercial passenger or medical transport work. The aircraft incorporates Thales’ FlytX avionics suite and a specialized mission system developed by Airbus, along with Safran’s Euroflir 410 electro-optical sensor system and Thales’ AirMaster C radar, giving crews advanced surveillance and targeting capability well beyond what the civilian variant carries. A self-protection suite covering the full electromagnetic and optical spectrum provides automated threat countermeasures, while Airbus’s modular HForce weapon system allows the aircraft to carry 12.7mm (0.5 in) machine gun pods, guided rockets, and 7.62mm (0.3 in) pintle-mounted machine guns for door gunners or a precision shooter position, turning what began as a civilian utility helicopter into a genuinely armed combat platform.
Perhaps the most technically significant feature Airbus has highlighted is the H160M’s native drone cooperation system, making it the first helicopter in the company’s entire product lineup built from the outset to work directly with unmanned aircraft rather than having that capability added later as a retrofit. That kind of manned-unmanned teaming capability has become increasingly valuable across modern militaries, letting a helicopter crew extend their reconnaissance range and situational awareness by directly controlling or receiving data from accompanying drones during a mission, rather than relying solely on the helicopter’s own onboard sensors.
The six-tonne class (13,228 lb) H160M runs on Safran Arrano engines and incorporates 68 patented features Airbus says improve efficiency, safety, and environmental performance while reducing maintenance requirements compared to older helicopter designs. Airbus Helicopters CEO Bruno Even praised the broader flight test campaign’s launch when the first prototype flew in July 2025, pointing specifically to the French Navy’s operational experience with six civilian H160 aircraft already in service for search and rescue missions at sea, which he said demonstrated outstanding performance and reliability over more than two years of demanding maritime operations.
A third prototype, built specifically in Navy configuration, is scheduled to join the test campaign in 2027, giving Airbus a dedicated aircraft to validate the maritime-specific systems and shipboard compatibility the Navy variant will require beyond what the Army and Air Force versions need. Production of the airframe has already begun at Airbus’s facility in Donauwörth, Germany, running in parallel with the ongoing flight test program rather than waiting for testing to fully conclude before manufacturing starts, a schedule compression Airbus is using to try to hit the program’s delivery targets.
Source: Defence Blog
