X3

Eurocopter’s X3 Is Cool Enough For James Bond; But Helicopters Aren’t On DoD’s Shopping list

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MANASSAS, Va: Buzzing a runway in 200-knot low-level passes and steep, nose-up climbs, Eurocopter’s silver X3 hybrid helicopter looked like something out of a James Bond movie as it performed for the media in late July. The X3 (pronounced “X-cubed”) stopped off at Manassas Regional Airport as part of a U.S. tour that ended last Thursday at the Pentagon, where Eurocopter hopes to sell several types of helicopters based on its sleek new technology demonstrator.

“I see a bright future inside the military,” said Steve Mundt, vice president for business development for Eurocopter parent EADS North America and a retired brigadier general who once ran the Army’s aviation branch. Keep reading →

Published August 2, 2012 at 3:30 PM

High Speed, High Value: The X3 Hybrid Helo Demos At Huntsville

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The X3 hybrid helicopter, one of the highlights of the Paris Air Show last year, is in the midst of a month-long tour of the United States. Robbin Laird, defense consultant and owner of the Second Line of Defense website, saw the aircraft do its thing in Texas and he offers this appraisal of the high-speed helo. The aircraft is scheduled to perform demonstration flights with “guest pilots” in Huntsville, Ala. on July 9 at the Redstone Army Arsenal Airfield.

The launch of the tour was held at Eurocopter facilities in Grand Prairie, Texas. With the lieutenant governor of Texas and other political dignitaries present, the senior leadership of Eurocopter introduced the X3 to the United States. Keep reading →

Published July 6, 2012 at 6:01 AM