The S-97 Raider is Sikorsky’s proto-prototype for the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft. It’s competing with the Bell 360 Invictus — but unlike the S-97, the 360 isn’t flying yet.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Despite tightening budgets, the Army’s pushing ahead with its plan to replace the Reagan-era UH-60 Black Hawk with a high-speed Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA). It’ll pick between Bell’s V-280 and the Sikorsky-Boeing Defiant-X next year, with the winner entering service in 2030.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Manned armored vehicles will have a place even in a world of killer drones, experts agreed. But will they engage the enemy directly with big guns, or stay hidden and send out armed robots instead?
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.PrSM is preparing for its first 300-plus-mile flight test this year, while the ERCA cannon and hypersonic LRHW head for key tests in 2023.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Congress is skeptical of the augmented-reality IVAS goggles, which can display everything from cross-hairs for targeting to simulated enemy soldiers for training.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.“There are a lot of differences between the FCS experience and the path we’re on,” the Army Futures Command chief told us. This time, he said, “I don’t think there is hubris. I think there’s actually humility.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.“We probably need about two or three more years of good solid budgets” for modernization, Gen. James McConville said, so he’ll seek economies in readiness and personnel – but modestly and on the margins. Will that be enough?
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.“In my career, certainly this is the most amount of modernization I’ve seen,” Brig. Gen. Brian Gibson says. Can multiple Army programs make their 2023 deadline?
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.