Airbus prepares for U145 first flight as customer interest builds

With a full scale mockup (pictured) revealed at the ILA Berlin Airshow in June 2026, the first flight of the U145 is expected to take place in early November 2026. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)

Airbus Helicopters is preparing to fly its U145 unmanned helicopter for the first time, with the company saying customer interest is building around a platform intended to provide autonomous cargo and weapons capabilities in contested environments.

Speaking to Janes and other defence media at Airbus Helicopters' Marignane production facility in Southern France, the head of the U145 programme, Constance Pinsdorf, said that the U145 unmanned version of the H145 rotorcraft will make its maiden flight at the Donauwörth facility in southern Germany in November 2026. At the same time, she noted strong prospective interest in the concept since it was revealed at the ILA Berlin Airshow earlier in the year.

“If everything is going well, in the first two weeks of November then the [first flight] will be taking place,” Pinsdorf said on 7 October 2026, noting that for this maiden flight and subsequent test flights there will be a human safety pilot onboard the helicopter. “The initial aircraft retains its two-person cockpit, although only one side will be occupied during the flight testing,” she said, adding that once the initial test phase is complete the airframe will be transferred to Marignane for the unmanned phase of testing. “The environment here [in Marignane] and the southern part of Europe can be used because here we have a little bit more flexibility regarding the autonomous flying parts.”