Farnborough 2026: Lockheed Martin to establish European NGRC production line

Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky X2 compound co-axial rotorcraft at Farnborough International Airshow 2026. The company is leveraging this platform for NGRC. (Janes/Gareth Jennings)

Lockheed Martin has pledged to establish a new European production line for the Next Generation Rotorcraft (NGRC) it is currently concepting for the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA).

Announced for the Farnborough International Airshow 2026 running from 20 to 24 July, the undertaking would involve Lockheed Martin subsidiary company Sikorsky setting up a line at an as yet undisclosed location in Europe.

“Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, [ahead of the Farnborough International Airshow] confirmed that it is actively pursuing the establishment of an NGRC production line in Europe. The move underscores Sikorsky's commitment to deepening its partnership with NATO and advancing collaborative research and development in Europe,” Lockheed Martin said. Parallel to the European effort, Lockheed Martin is expanding its helicopter footprint in Asia, where a joint program with industry leaders has been established to develop an international X2 variant, which is one of two concepts being explored by the company for NGRC.

NGRC was launched in 2020 and managed by the NSPA through its Support Partnership. It aims to replace more than 900 medium-lift helicopter platforms that will be ending their life cycles from 2030 to 2050 with new solutions that will operate from 2035 to 2080. The project now comprises the six mainly (but not exclusively) European NATO countries of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom (Greece withdrew at the conclusion of the initial concepting phase at the end of 2025).