AUSA: Sikorsky’s Raider-X compound helicopter is one of highest-profile contenders for the Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft. While three of the four other competitors on FARA — AVX, Bell, and Karem, but not Boeing — have unveiled their designs, only Sikorsky’s is derived from a real aircraft already flying.
Specifically, Raider-X is basically a scaled up version of the smaller but essentially similar S-97 Raider (pictured at right for comparison). While S-97’s history has been mixed, with one of the two prototypes totaled in a (fortunately non-fatal) accident two years ago, the fact that it actually exists and is making test flights gives Sikorsky a double advantage, First, it gives them real-world data to refine their simulations and engineering design. Second, it gives the Army tangible evidence that the design works, with its novel mix of ultra-rigid coaxial rotors and a pusher propeller in the back for thrust.
Our own Rick Whittle conducted an in-depth interview on Raider-X with Sikorsky’s lead test pilot, Bill Fell, and flew in Sikorsky’s FARA simulator at AUSA — check out the video above.
Read the rest of our series on the five Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft contenders:
Air Force declares ‘critical’ Nunn-McCurdy cost breach for MH-139A Grey Wolf helo
The cost breach is driven by the service’s plan to cut the buy of the helicopter in half, not by any cost overrun in the program itself.