Leonardo Next-gen Civil Tiltrotor Demonstrator Makes First Flight | Aviation International News

Leonardo Next-gen Civil Tiltrotor Makes First Flight

EU Clean Sky 2-funded project to mature civilian aircraft technologies

NGCTR technology demonstrator in the hover — The NGCTR demonstrator is based around the as-yet uncertified Leonardo AW609

By Charlotte Bailey • News Reporter

December 22, 2025

Leonardo Helicopters has made the first flight of its Next Generation Civil Tiltrotor (NGCTR) demonstrator aircraft from its Costa di Samarate facility in Italy. Part of an EU-funded initiative, NGCTR was first launched in 2015 under the European Union’s Clean Aviation Clean Sky 2 program, which described the project’s aims to “design, install and demonstrate, in flight, innovative civil tiltrotor technologies enabling future prototype development.” At the time, Clean Aviation envisaged a first flight in 2023.

Ground runs in June 2024 paved the way for the latest milestone, which “represents a fundamental step towards validating the five new technologies and performance improvements,” Leonardo said. To help achieve this, the demonstrator includes “advanced wing architecture, innovative tail layout, non-tilting engine installation…[and] an advanced, modular, distributed and scalable flight control system.”

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