Airbus Helicopters has introduced the U145, an uncrewed variant of its H145 light twin, presenting a full-scale mock-up of the aircraft at the ILA Berlin airshow on June 8, 2026.
The manufacturer said a maiden flight with a safety pilot on board is planned for the end of 2026, with entry into service expected at the start of the next decade. The U145 is the second crewed Airbus helicopter to be reworked into an uncrewed system, following the VSR700, which is derived from the Cabri G2.
“With the U145, we are offering our customers an autonomous, uncrewed version of our H145 helicopter, combining the proven airframe, power and useful load of the H145 with the autonomy of a UAS,” said Matthieu Louvot, CEO of Airbus Helicopters.
Louvot added that the company would team with autonomous mission partners to develop the platform’s multi-mission capabilities and expand the uncrewed aerial systems ecosystem in Europe.
At @ILA_Berlin, we introduce the Airbus U145: an uncrewed, fully autonomous variant of the H145. Optimised for cargo with no cockpit, an integrated nose door, and full autonomy, its first flight is set for late 2026. https://t.co/MbodUxYxyI pic.twitter.com/2EnMXzog6c
— Airbus Helicopters (@AirbusHeli) June 8, 2026
A cargo-first design
The U145 drops the physical cockpit in favor of a specialized sensor suite and artificial intelligence for full autonomy. Airbus has reconfigured the airframe around cargo carriage, adding an integrated nose door with a foldable loading table and a dedicated cargo floor.
With a maximum take-off weight of 3,800 kilograms (8,400 pounds), it is being developed primarily for high-volume cargo supply. The company is pitching it as a mission-agnostic platform for civil and military users.
Airbus said the modular design could be extended to disaster management, firefighting, armed scouting, surveillance, and drone mothership roles for air-launched effects, the latter in partnership with MBDA, as well as crewed-uncrewed teaming. The baseline H145 family numbers more than 1,800 aircraft in service across military, parapublic, and civil operators, with over 8.5 million flight hours logged. The type is powered by two Safran Arriel 2E engines with full authority digital engine control.
A European answer to autonomous logistics
In the United States, Airbus U.S. Space & Defense is offering the US Marine Corps a separate development, the MQ-72C, a fully autonomous variant of the UH-72B Lakota, alongside partners Shield AI, L3 Harris, and Parry Lab.
The U145 places Airbus in a field that US rivals have already entered. Sikorsky has converted a UH-60L Black Hawk into the fully autonomous U-Hawk cargo drone and delivered an optionally piloted UH-60MX fitted with its MATRIX autonomy suite to the US Army.
The push toward uncrewed rotorcraft reflects a wider rebalancing in which armies are shifting resupply and high-risk roles to drones, even as commanders argue that crewed helicopters remain central to many missions.
