Rotorcraft
Eurocopter Developing a Number of New Helicopters

Eurocopter is currently working on three “X” projects–the X indicating they are more or less secret–to replace the Dauphin and Super Puma and an undetermined model. Meanwhile, the EC175 program has slipped a bit more to the right.

“On the X4, the supply chain is almost in place,” CEO Lutz Bertling said during a recent press conference in Paris. The X4 medium twin will replace the Dauphin series, also known under its AS365 and EC155 designations. The helicopter will be released in two versions, one in 2017 and one in 2020, the latter more capable than the former. Chief technology officer Jean-Brice Dumont confirmed the second version will feature fly-by-wire controls and an entirely new man-machine interface, probably a futuristic cockpit.

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