2027 Helicopter Fleet & MRO Forecast Now Available from Aviation Week

Airbus Helicopters delivers 42% of all new helicopters over the next 10 years and ranks first in delivery values

NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, October 22, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Leonardo and Bell Textron follow in rank order by value, but Bell ranks second in deliveries

Aviation Week released its 2027 Helicopter Fleet & MRO Forecast, a 10-year outlook of the industry. Produced from independent projections by internal forecasting teams and using data from the Aviation Week Intelligence Network (AWIN), the forecast findings show the broader, worldwide turbine-powered fleet growing 14% at a 1.4% CAGR, reaching over 24,900 units in 2036, up from approximately 21,900.

Turbine-powered helicopter deliveries are projected to exceed 6,500 over the decade, while aircraft retirements will total just under 3,200 units. This translates to a 1.4% in-service fleet CAGR. Airbus Helicopters leads deliveries over the 10-year forecast with a 42% share of delivery units over the period. Smaller-sized helicopters lead in number of unit deliveries.

Aside from Airbus, which leads in both delivery counts and values, Leonardo ranks second in delivery values, while Bell Textron surpasses Leonardo in projected unit deliveries but comes in third place for value. Together, the top three manufacturers account for a 94% share of the $38.6 billion retail delivery value over the forecast timeframe. Safran, as the current leading producer of turbine helicopter engines, continues its dominance. Its engine fleet adds over 5,300 units, growing to almost 16,300 Safran engines by 2036 after accounting for the net effect of retirements and new deliveries, representing a 47% market share.

Aftermarket MRO demand is projected to grow in line with fleet growth at a 1.4% CAGR on a non-inflationary basis. Component MRO is projected to account for a 35% share of the $102.8 billion total MRO requirements, and dynamic components within that category alone account for over half of that amount. Retirement activity is concentrated in the second half of the forecast period, reaching a peak of nearly 500 units retiring in 2032 alone.
The 2027 Helicopter Fleet & MRO Forecast findings detail market demands and industry trends, accounting for the impact of economic and macro trends on global fleets and MRO. By combining current fleet counts and statistics, projected aircraft fleet changes, utilization projections derived from in-house flight data, and segmented MRO cost analytics, the forecast delivers critical strategic insights for major aerospace market sectors.

The 2027 Commercial Fleet & MRO Forecast, Business Aviation Fleet & MRO Forecast, and Military Aviation Fleet & MRO Forecast have also been released.
For more information on Aviation Week’s 2027 Fleet & MRO Forecasts or to subscribe, contact Anne McMahon at +1 646 469 1564, anne.mcmahon@aviationweek.com or go to https://aviationweek.com/fleetforecast

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