A new approach to speed, scale and efficiency for the industrial base
Radars, EW, EO/IR, space imagery, and microelectronics are brought under one roof for a streamlined approach to common people and factories.
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.
The US just gave the Lebanese Army three Huey II multi-mission helicopters and will also donate six brand new MD-530 light scout attack choppers.
By Chyrine Mezher
The Army has learned from the Comanche scout chopper debacle, where it spent $9 billion in today’s dollars to get just two prototypes. With Future Vertical Lift, $7 billion will get 18 prototype aircraft, counting both the FARA scout and FLRAA transport.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
The companies’ proposed Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) to replace the UH-60 is a sleeker, stealthier version of the prototype SB>1 Defiant now in flight tests. Can it beat Bell’s tiltrotor?
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Applying AI to everything from predictive maintenance to financial management can save the military billions, the director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center told us – if the Pentagon can reform its cumbersome bureaucracy to exploit rapid advances in technology.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
B-21, hypersonics and more: How digital development is driving industry innovation
Technological advancements are key to keeping pace with customer demands and evolving threat landscapes.
With shrinking budgets and a growing need for new technologies, “the Army will need to make a compelling case to Congress to fund new capabilities and truncate legacy programs,” said CSBA’s Tom Mahnken.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
The cutting-edge IVAS targeting goggles took a $230 million hit, while the latest upgrade to the venerable CH-47 Chinook – which the Army doesn’t actually want – got a $165 million boost.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Of 46 types of aircraft surveyed – from the new F-35 to the aging JSTARS – not one met the Pentagon’s goal of being 80 percent “mission capable.” Most of them, in fact, keep getting worse.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Sikorsky’s ALIAS automation will help human pilots fly more safely at low altitude and high speeds and in poor visibility. Modified UH-60s will test out the technology for next-gen Future Vertical Lift.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Bell and Sikorsky have started building their competing prototypes for the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) ahead of a Final Design Review in November. The vital digital architecture is still in development.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Before you can 3D print a part, you need a detailed 3D model of it. So Army Material Command is figuring out how to scan tens of thousands of parts. One method: pull apart an entire helicopter.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville and other top Army pilots say these new technologies, tactics, & training will keep aircraft alive against high-tech foes like Russia and China.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
In the competition for the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft, high agility and low life-cycle costs matter most, a former Marine tiltrotor test pilot argues.
By Scott Trail