The largest conference on rotorcraft technology in Europe brought together specialists on the subject from all over the world. ‘Rotorcraft’ are helicopters, drones and VTOLs (vertical take-off and landing). The event was organised by NLR, on behalf of the International Committee of the European Rotorcraft Forum.
Scientists and engineers came together to exchange knowledge during this four-day scientific conference. These experts came not only from Europe but also from abroad, for example from the United States, South Korea and Japan. During the event, the latest developments in the field were outlined. The European Rotorcraft Forum 2026 also brought together companies – large and small – with engineers, scientists, public authorities and defence representatives. Participants were impressed by the level of the lectures, networking opportunities, but also by the social events and the special location of the event.
Keynote lectures outlined some context: what are the challenges facing the armed forces in 2026? The first speaker commented on developments within the Dutch Air Force in recent years. The most striking change is the emergence of drones as weapons. The use of drones took off in the war in Ukraine and both sides now produce millions of drones a year. The result of this ‘drone revolution’ is that virtually every country in the world now has access to drone technology, for both short- and long-range missions. Even militant groups like the Houthis are using long-range drones.
Future of military rotorcraft
The rapid rise of flying drones has major implications for the use of manned helicopters. A helicopter currently has little or no defense against a swarm of drones. That means a lot for the future of military rotorcraft; for example, that helicopters will have to operate at a greater distance from the battlefield; that a helicopter will have to have long-range weapons on board; that new helicopters will have to be able to move much faster than current types; and that new helicopters will have to have more different weapons on board to defend themselves.
The drone revolution also means that radically new concepts become possible, a second speaker outlined. Consider, for example, a manned helicopter piloting a swarm of unmanned drones. In this concept the manned helicopter stays in the background – like a quarterback – observing the ‘action’ and following the unmanned systems. That’s a lot to ask of a helicopter pilot, who is going to have to be aided by sensors, electronic systems and AI to help with the enormous workload. Artificial intelligence is essential, because a pilot will be simply swamped with information. The AI will make a first shift in information and, for example, show the pilot ‘areas of interest’ But the decision to attack a target will always be made by a human, the military stressed.
Strategic autonomy was also named. Both speakers stressed that the armed forces of European countries will still continue to spend money on American technology, because in many respects it still is superior to European products. But at the same time it is important that Europe develops its own technology. Ideally, there should be at least two major aerospace conglomerates in Europe, as this is good for competition and prevents complacency among companies.
Europe
The next generation of helicopters is being developed in a NATO and European context. Under the European Next Generation Rotorcraft technologies II programme, the major OEMs – builders of complete aircraft – Leonardo and Airbus are working with 52 partners from 12 EU countries on technologies for the next generation of medium-sized helicopters, which should be available around 2035. Dutch companies, including Fokker and NLR, are also contributing substantially to this programme, which includes both compound helicopters and tiltrotor helicopters. NLR is also involved in the development of materials to protect the future helicopter against ballistic impact. In another project, also aimed at a future generation of helicopters – but in a NATO context – NLR experts analysed the flight characteristics of a tiltrotor concept design by Leonardo.
Mars helicopters and eVTOLs
The European Rotorcraft Forum is a combination of plenary lectures, complemented by parallel sessions where experts dive deeper into science and technology. One of those sessions was about eVTOLS, the electrically powered vertical take-off and lift aircraft, a term often associated with urban air mobility. Speaker Blanche Demaret of the 3AF Working Group outlined a popular field with over a thousand projects worldwide. At the same time, few companies manage to survive; the road to approval and certification is long and winding. Companies that are still doing well are mainly in the United States, Japan and China. Chinese companies are the most advanced technologically, although the information from that country is scarce.
In any case, the researchers pointed out, the success of urban air mobility will depend on public acceptance. This means on the one hand the degree to which the general public is looking forward to this new category of aircraft, and on the other hand, the (noise) nuisance that they may cause. For these reasons, the often mentioned application as an air taxi is not the most obvious. The first applications of eVTOLS will likely be seen in medical transport and emergency services, the speakers predicted based on their research.
Among the more exotic topics at the conference was a talk on NASA’s Project Skyfall. The plan is to build three new mini-helicopters that will fly to Mars and map the Martian surface from the air. Skyfall follows the great success of its predecessor Ingenuity – the first small helicopter to take to the skies on Mars. The biggest challenge for helicopters on Mars: to fly in the red planet’s thin atmosphere, they need ultra-thin rotor blades that rotate at very high speeds. Marge Donovan of the University of Maryland did extensive research on how to produce such sheets of composite material, and presented her findings.
NLR
Speakers at the European Rotorcraft Forum 2026 also included several experts from NLR. For example, one of them spoke about the challenges of controlling drones in maritime applications. Another NLR-researcher gave a talk on the challenges of portable training equipment for helicopter pilots. Because of the limited motion feedback, motion sickness lurks, a problem that can be solved with better algorithms. Finally, a lecture was given on simulation techniques suitable for complex rotorcraft configurations in which aerodynamic interactions between propellers, rotors and wings play a major role.
Technical tour
During the last day of the congress, the participants were given a tour of some of NLR’s laboratories at its Marknesse site. By organising the European Rotorcraft Forum 2026, ERF and NLR have brought together the main players in the field of rotorcraft. The spontaneous encounters between the lectures enabled making new contacts and regularly laid the foundations for new collaborations.
The 2027 edition of the European Rotorcraft Forum will take place in Krakow, Poland. At a gala dinner, the baton was handed over to next year’s organizational team.
