Page 26 - ADT MAY-JUNE 2022 Online Magazine

number of reasons,” says Graziano. “The programme gives the for Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior,” he says.
company access to advanced developments in the US defence
market. This is also an opportunity to bring a lot of Italian technol- “BOEING DIDN’T GO THROUGH
ogies and engineering expertise, which are of really high standard, WITH THE PROGRAM, BUT THE
to important industrial bases in the US. Our final assembly line will [ INDUSTRY ]
be in Medford, Long island. Everything will be made in the United RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM,
States essentially.” ESPECIALLY BETWEEN ENGINEERS,
WAS REALLY GOOD. BEING
Built For the Future
Defiant, designed as an agile, maneuverable weapon system, flies SMALLER COMPARED TO THE
twice as far and twice as fast as the Black Hawk while fitting in OTHER BIG PLAYERS IN THE FIELD,
the same operational footprint. The coaxial twin-rotor helicopter WE WERE ABLE TO DEMONSTRATE
incorporates Sikorsky X2 Technology to operate at high speeds NOT ONLY OUR CAPABILITIES
while maintaining low-speed handling qualities, thus providing pilots
with increased maneuverability and survivability in high-threat air BUT ALSO OUR AGILITY AND
defense environments. Last year, the helicopter hit a speed of 247 FLEXIBILITY. THAT REMAINED WITH
knots (284 mph), thus proving its combination of speed , flight THE BOEING ENGINEERING TEAM
stability and safety. Bell’s V-280 Valor, which is the other finalist, is WHEN THE COMPANY MOVED TO
a tiltrotor based on its V-22 Osprey.
FLRAA. IT WAS A VERY TOUGH
In early April, the Boeing-Sikorsky team flew in SB>1 Defiant, the BID; WE WERE INFORMED OF OUR
technology demonstrator aircraft, from West Palm Beach, Florida, SELECTION LAST YEAR.”
to Nashville, for the Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA)
Summit. The helicopter, which first flew in March 2019, undertook What the Group lacks in size, it more than
its first-ever trip out of Florida in less than four hours. makes up through innovation, technology, and
the ability to provide customized solutions . “It
“I cannot tell you how excited my team members are to work on is not usual that you find such capabilities in
this program,” says Giorgio Iannotti, MA Group Chief Business a small company, not only on the engineering
and Product Development Officer. “We have wide experience in side but also for qualification and testing,” says
designing landing gears for such kinds of applications, especially Graziano. “We are responsible for the full land-
in these kinds of defence helicopters that have crashworthiness ing great system. We design, build., qualify and
requirements. It is typical technology that we have been designing test the system. It is unusual to find all these
in Italy for quite a while, in fact from the 70s. Defiant is a big helicop- capabilities in a small company Our selection
ter, but we do fixed wing aircraft that are bigger. This is right in our for the Defiant X program is a recognition of
niche. For this programme, we have applied some technologies our capabilities. The Defiant team wanted the
that we use on other applications, especially on the actuation side.“ best out there in the market and they chose us.”

Proving its Mettle High on Confidence
Iannotti believes that the Group’s association with Boeing for the Both Graziano and Iannotti remain quietly
U.S. Army’s future attack reconnaissance aircraft (FARA) program optimistic that Sikorsky-Boeing will be chosen
helped in earning the confidence of the OEM. “We were selected to to build the FLRAA prototype that will be the
do the landing gear for the Boeing FARA, the Army’s replacement successor to the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk.
“The Defiant X program has a lot going for it,”
says Graziano. “The experience of the two
OEMs, the fact that the machine is proven and
is already flying; there is just no comparison.
Defiant X is what the Army needs. We are in
this because we believe in the machine.”

“As an engineer, I can confidently say that it is
the best machine for the scope,” says Iannotti.
“It is far better for this kind of application
compared to the competition. Defiant X may
be slightly slower, but it is far more flexible.
You need to carry weapons, people, have low
ground maneuverability, and to interconnect
seamlessly with other systems. For us, this is
the only solution. We are keeping our fingers
crossed and hoping for good news.”

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