Certification and Qualification Plan for Weapon Systems Integration on Military Rotorcraft

This Master’s Thesis has been developed within the Leonardo S.p.a. - Helicopters Division - Military Airworthiness Office - Technical Department - located in Cascina Costa di Samarate, Varese, Italy, with the support of the Head of Military Airworthiness. The work presented through this Thesis has been part of an Intern with the aim to develop a Certification Manual for the Company. While the whole Certification Process for Civil Helicopters is ruled by Certification Criteria, made up by the main Authorities such as European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in Europe and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the United States of America, in the current Military Airworthiness each EU State is responsible through their own regulations of their Military Rotorcraft, owning their unique National Regulations. The aim of this work is to analyze the background of technical and managerial workflow in order to produce a Guideline for the integration of Weapon Systems, focusing on Certification and Qualification activities on Military Rotorcraft, such as Dual-Use and Combat solutions. This is basically a knowledge management initiative that do not pretend to reinvent processes, but instead to organize the experience that Leonardo Helicopters gained so far in different projects worldwide. This Thesis provides information regarding Certification and Qualification Processes, analyzing the differences between Civil and Military Procedures. Weapon Systems Integration on Rotorcraft is therefore presented, presenting a Work Breakdown Structure for the activities needed. The Certification Plan is then presented, completing the Thesis with an overview for Store Separation and Gunfire Vibration activities and analysis.