WASHINGTON: The Sikorsky-Boeing team competing for the Army’s future long-range assault helicopter announced Thursday that its offering for program will be powered by a Honeywell engine.
The industry partnership competing for the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) will use a Honeywell HTS7500 turboshaft engine. The FLRAA competition, meant to replace the service’s aging Black Hawk helicopter fleet, is one of the service’s top modernization priorities.
“Honeywell is excited to be a part of Team DEFIANT and proud to play a part in the future of vertical lift for the U.S. Army,” said Ricky Freeman, president of defense and space at Honeywell Aerospace, in a press release. He added that the company was “confident” that the engine would “provide the Army with an agile, fast and maneuverable platform that will help ensure overmatch capability in the future battlespace.”
Sikorsky, a subsidiary of defense giant Lockheed Martin, is teamed with Boeing to offer the “DEFIANT X” for the competition, going up against a platform developed by Bell Textron. The service will choose a winner in the third quarter of fiscal 2022. According to the Honeywell website, the HTS900 Turboshaft Engine improves payload capability and increases fuel efficiency.
“Honeywell is giving us a transformational engine to power” the new design, said Paul Lemmo, president of Sikorsky. The platform is “optimized for operational effectiveness, sustainment and interoperability with the enduring fleet, and will transform the Army.”
“Team DEFIANT’s strength is built on the experience of Sikorsky and Boeing, and a commitment to Army Aviation,” said Mark Cherry, vice president and general manager of Boeing Vertical Lift. “Honeywell’s history with Boeing and the U.S. Army makes us even more confident” that the industry team can win the competition.
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Last month, the Sikorsky-Boeing team announced that its FLRAA technology demonstrator, the SB>1 Defiant, has successfully completed a mission profile that included low-level flights and confined area landings. The DEFIANT X is the potential production model, building off of the technology proven on the SB>1.
As the FLRAA contest continues to unfold, the program still has a ways to go. According to FY22 budget documents, the prototype deliveries are scheduled to begin in fiscal 2025, with first unit equipped not until FY30.
The Army is also trying to develop another futuristic helicopter, called the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft, with Bell and Sikorsky also the finalists.