The heavy helicopter project takes off
(B2) EU defense ministers on Monday (May 18) gave the green light to the Heavy Transport Helicopter (HTF) project.
This originally Franco-German initiative is now placed under the aegis of the European Defense Agency. It is open to other Member States, and possibly others.
The objective of the FTH project is to provide Europeans with a solution for heavy transport capacity in theaters of operation. A persistent missing gap. This device would weigh 32 to 35 tons, and should enter service by 2020 (or more).
« It is a very important project to find a common European solution in the longer term, perhaps even with the United States. “, underlined Javier Solana, the head of the agency and High Representative. The development costs are indeed quite significant: between 2 and 3 billion euros.
(NGV)