Page 28 - ADT JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2023 Online Magazine

Not every Black Hawk will end up being replaced
by the V-280, even if it the U.S. Army’s decision
on FLRAA stands. “We reiterate our view that
the FLRAA is unlikely to be a 1:1 replacement
for UH-60s,” Callan added. “As well, the total
buy of FLRAAs and the need for other manned
rotary-wing aircraft could be impacted in the
2030s by eVTOL and autonomous unmanned
air vehicles…”

A court battle could potentially delay the
Army’s plans to field the new FLRAA fleet around
2030, but the service seems to have factored
in a potential protest delay while finalizing the grammes where Bell and Sikorsky are pitted against each other.
schedule. The contract award, one of the most Even as they await a final decision on FLRAA, both the companies
eagerly awaited in recent years, was originally are moving ahead with the development of flying prototypes for the
set for the second quarter of last year but was service’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) programme
delayed until December. that intends to find a successor to the Bell OH-58 Kiowa scout heli-
HEAVYWEIGHT CONTEST copter as part of the Future Vertical Lift programme. A successor
to the OH-58 has been hard to find; three prior programmes for a
The Sikorsky-Boeing team remain confident successor were cancelled prior to reaching production. After design
about the Defiant X, the aircraft they fielded in contracts for programme candidates were awarded in April 2019
the competition. ““We remain confident Defiant to five manufacturers: Sikorsky, AVX Aircraft (in partnership with
X is the transformational aircraft the US Army L3Harris Technologies), Bell Helicopter, Karem Aircraft, and Boeing,
requires to accomplish its complex missions the service in March 2020 selected designs from Bell and Sikorsky for
today and well into the future,” the team said in the second phase of the competition. Flight testing is expected to
a statement after the service’s announcement. happen in Fiscal Year 2024, with selection of a design for production
“The data and discussions lead us to believe the scheduled for 2028.
proposals were not consistently evaluated to
deliver the best value in the interest of our Army, The Bell 360 Invictus, which is based on the Bell 525 Relentless,
our soldiers and American taxpayers,” Lockheed is the company’s FARA entry while Sikorksy has brought Raider X
Martin later said, challenging the award. to the competition. The Bell 360 Invictus is a stealthy, high-speed
light attack helicopter that has a smooth, rounded fuselage, single
The V-280 Valor is designed to serve as a medi- rotor, back tail rotor and an 82-inch long internal payload bay. The
um-lift infantry utility platform that will provide helicopter is optimized for speed and comparatively low cost of
the Army a significant increase in capability over production. In July last year, the company said that the aircraft is
the Black Hawk. The aircraft has a top speed over 90 per cent complete.
of about 350 miles per hour, at least 100 miles
per hour more than the Black Hawk’s top speed. In October last year, Sikorsky announced that the Raider X prototype
While the UH-60’s combat range is about 300 was 92 per cent complete and that it would go ahead with early
tests toward a safe flight test programme for the aircraft.
miles, the V-280 offers a combat range of about
900 miles. The V-280 is designed to carry about According to Lockheed Martin, Raider X features Modular Open
25 per cent more weight on board compared to Systems Architecture (MOSA)-based avionics and mission systems
the UH-60. offering “plug-and-play” options for computing, sensors, surviv-
ability and weapons. X2 compound coaxial technology provides
Sikorsky-Boeing’s Defiant X, which has been unmatched potential and growth margin for increased speed,
designed as an agile, maneuverable weapon combat radius and payload. This, the company says, enables a
system, flies twice as far and twice as fast as the broader range of aircraft configurations for specific mission require-
Black Hawk while fitting in the same operational ments.
footprint. The coaxial twin-rotor helicopter
incorporates Sikorsky X2 Technology to operate “The FARA programme is important for Army modernization because
at high speeds while maintaining low-speed it provides the speed, maneuverability, reach and the lethality
handling qualities, thus providing pilots with needed on a 21st Century battlefield,” says Pete Germanowski, FARA
increased maneuverability and survivability in Chief Engineer at Sikorsky. “Raider X is also designed for growth. The
high-threat air defence environments. modular open systems approach and digital backbone coupled
AFTER FLRAA, FARA with the mission system and sensors and communications capability
give the Army a node to tie their battlefield network together and
FLRAA is one of the two major U.S. Army pro- enhance the capabilities of the ground force in the process.”
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