Leonardo and the EU Clean Aviation JU (Joint Undertaking) have completed the first flight of the Next Generation Civil Tiltrotor Technology Demonstrator (NGCTR-TD), which took place at Leonardo’s Cascina Costa di Samarate facility in Italy today. This milestone marks the start of the flight test phase for one of the most advanced technology programmes in the European civil aviation landscape.

The Next Generation Civil Tiltrotor (NGCTR) programme aims to revolutionise civil vertical lift by combining helicopter versatility with fixed-wing aircraft performance. With a cruise speed of 280 kts and a range of approximately 1,000 nm, the tiltrotor opens new scenarios for mobility, freight transport, and search and rescue missions, enabling faster coverage of larger areas with a significantly reduced environmental footprint.

The NGCTR-TD has been developed within Clean Sky 2, a core initiative of the European Horizon 2020 programme and an EU-funded initiative for the development and validation of aeronautical technologies that will improve environmental impact and enhance the European aerospace supply chain. The NGCTR- TD brings together industry, research centres and academia to address the environmental and societal challenges of aviation, reducing emissions and noise while strengthening Europe’s global competitiveness.

Launched in 2015, the programme involves multiple organisations from several European countries, building an unprecedented level of know-how within the EU. Following the successful completion of ground runs in July 2024, the first flight represents a fundamental step toward validating the five new technologies and performance improvements in terms of CO2, NOx and noise reduction, as well as lower cost of ownership.

The NGCTR-TD’s key enabling technologies include advanced wing architecture, innovative tail layout, non-tilting engine installation with high-efficiency nacelle architecture and split-gearbox drivetrain and an advanced, modular, distributed and scalable flight control system. The innovative solutions developed and integrated into the NGCTR-TD contribute to reduce drag, optimise engine installation, reduce on-ground emission effects and noise, and enhance control and performance.

Gian Piero Cutillo, managing director of Leonardo Helicopters, states: “Building on our established expertise in the tiltrotor domain, bringing this Technology Demonstrator to the air for the first time sets a major milestone on our path to provide a key contribution towards an even more advanced, effective and sustainable use of rotorcraft technologies in Europe. Vertical lift continues to provide invaluable advantages to operators and communities for multiple tasks globally, therefore we’re committed to developing and providing solutions that allow us to uniquely combine the best of both worlds, rotary and fix wing architectures, allowing access to all-new capabilities.”

Axel Krein, Clean Aviation JU’s executive director, adds: “The NGCTR shows how Europe can turn ambition and vision into impact: the programme brought together more than 85 organisations from 15 countries with a common goal: to develop faster and more sustainable rotorcraft based on tilt-rotor architecture. With €116 million in EU funding across over 30 grant agreements, final outcomes go far beyond the project itself: more than 20 patents originated in the NGCTR, and the programme has helped drive skills development, industrial capabilities and new European supply chains. This makes the NGCTR, launched under Clean Aviation’s predecessor Clean Sky 2, a key contributor to strengthening Europe’s strategic leadership in sustainable air transport.”