U.S. Army Defining New Multi-Role Helicopter

Gestart door jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter), 08/04/2012 | 09:29 uur

Harald

US Army requests Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft proposals

The US Army released a draft request for proposal for its Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft, a rotorcraft to replace a retired scout helicopter, according to new acquisition documents.

The Army plans to select two companies to build prototypes by the third quarter of 2020 and wants to see prototypes flying by 2023. By fiscal year 2024, the service wants to transition to a program of record.

The Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) will be comparable in size to Future Vertical Lift Capability Set 1, a light-attack and scouting aircraft with a minimum internal payload of six passengers.The Army envisions FARA would be a manned rotorcraft that uses software automation to reduce pilot workloads and that has the ability to sustain a high operational tempo with extended maintenance free periods.

The aircraft would have autonomous capabilities, be able to team with unmanned systems and play the center piece role of an integrated air defense system breeching team. The air platform would be sized to hide in Radar clutter and within the urban canyons of mega cities.

"Army Aviation must operate in highly contested/complex airspace and degraded environments against peer/near peer adversaries capable of an advanced integrated air defense system," the Army wrote in its draft RFP. "This platform is the 'knife fighter' of future Army Aviation capabilities, a small form factor platform with maximized performance."

Currently, only a few clean-sheet rotorcrafts have the flight hours and performance to fulfill the Army's Capability Set 1 vision, including the Sikorsky S-97 Raider, Airbus Helicopters Eurocopter X³ and Leonardo AW609.

The S-97 is designed specifically to meet the Army's Capability Set 1 vision. It is a demonstrator platform designed to show the benefits of the advancing blade concept, a pair of rigid, contra-rotating co-axial rotors that allows the rotorcraft to fly at speeds above 200kt.

Airbus's compound helicopter, the Eurocopter X³, and Leonardo's tiltrotor, the AW609, are designed for the civilian markets, but could be re-purposed for a military scout role as was the Army's recently retired scout helicopter the Bell OH-58 Kiowa, which was based on the Bell 206A JetRanger.

The FARA represents a belated replacement plan for the Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior. The original OH-58A was fielded in 1968 as an interim replacement for the cancelled Hughes OH-6 Cayuse, but the army later cancelled the high-speed Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne as costs rose steeply. Three decades later, the army also cancelled the Sikorsky Boeing RAH-66 Comanche, denying other bid to replace the long-serving OH-58D.

An attempt to modify the Bell 407 into an armed reconnaissance helicopter failed in 2008 when the Army cancelled the contract. Subsequent plans to launch the Armed Aerial Scout (AAS) acquisition programme also were scrapped by the Army. Finally, the OH-58D was retired without a direct replacement. The Army planned to fill the requirement for a scout aircraft by teaming the Boeing AH-64 Apache with the Textron AAI RQ-7 Shadow unmanned air system.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/us-army-requests-future-attack-reconnaissance-aircra-449750/


Harald

Pentagon eyes new 'knife fighter' helicopter

US Army leaders are moving forward with plans to develop and field a new attack reconnaissance helicopter and are shooting to have two prototypes in the air by 2023.

https://www.shephardmedia.com/news/defence-helicopter/pentagon-eyes-new-knife-fighter-helicopter-prototy/

Harald

Sikorsky modifies Raider helicopter to use US Army's future engine

Lockheed Martin-owned Sikorsky has engineered its S-97 Raider coaxial experimental helicopter to use the U.S. Army's future engine in an attempt to present the aircraft as a strong and soon-to-be-ready contender for the Army's Future Vertical Lift family of aircraft expected to come online in the 2030s.

Raider will be able to accept either one or two of the Improved Turbine Engine Program engines from the start, which will also help support bringing ITEP to fruition, Chris Van Buiten, the company's vice president of technology and innovation, told Defense News in an interview.

"The engine in Raider is just a beautiful match," he said.

The Army is said to be on track to award a contract to one of two teams currently developing a future helicopter engine in late 2018. The service awarded contracts to two separate teams to design future engines to replace an enormous portion of the service's helicopters under the ITEP program. The Advanced Turbine Engine Company — a Honeywell and Pratt & Whitney team — was awarded a $154 million contract while GE Aviation was awarded a $102 million contract in August 2016.

ITEP is meant to replace every engine in both AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and UH-60 Black Hawks, and will provide both aircraft boosted capability from 3,000 horsepower to a 25 percent full-burn reduction.

It is also possible ITEP could be used in FVL aircraft, particularly in the lighter variant.

Raider currently flies with GE's YT706-GE-700R engine.

While the Army has been adamant that it plans to first procure a medium-lift helicopter within the FVL program, the service has recently signaled it is more open to considering a lighter aircraft early on in the program capable of attack reconnaissance.

The Army's largest aviation capability gap remains armed reconnaissance after the service decided to retire the OH-58D Kiowa and replace it with larger, more expensive AH-64 Apache attack helicopters teamed with Shadow unmanned aircraft systems.

Van Buiten believes there is a case for the Army to first procure a light helicopter, of which Raider fits perfectly, because of the critical gap left when the Kiowa was retired.

Apache filling the gap now is "a big airplane for the reconnaissance role mission. As forces get pushed back by rapid-reaction rocket-kind of threats and will have to execute at a greater radius, I think the Apache is going to start to struggle in that recon role and have a lot of time on station," he said.

Sikorsky and Boeing are actually building a larger version of Raider called the SB-1 Defiant, which fits in the medium-lift class, and will fly as part of an Army demonstration called the Joint Multi-Role program that aims to evaluate the capabilities of two separate advanced helicopter concepts as it tries to shape the requirements for an FVL aircraft.

Bell Helicopter has designed the second demonstrator — a tilt-rotor called the V-280 Valor — which has been flying since late 2017.

While there's a case to start with medium-lift, "you could argue that FVL light is just a smaller, lower-cost program," Van Buiten said. "It's hundreds of aircraft instead of thousands and might be a prudent way to get the ball rolling, get a win on the board, move FVL forward. It's kind of a good warmup for a larger FVL program, and the multimission capability of Raider can give them a lot of flexibility."

The Raider program experienced a setback last year when the helicopter sustained "substantial damage" from a hard landing during a flight test at the Sikorsky Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, in early August 2017.

https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/aaaa/2018/04/20/sikorsky-modifies-raider-helicopter-to-use-us-armys-future-engine/

Harald



Sikorsky S-97 RAIDER™ First Flight.
Our S-97 RAIDER™ helicopter successfully achieved its first flight at the Sikorsky Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, Fla today! Congratulations to Chief Pilot Bill Fell, Co-pilot Kevin Bredenbeck and the entire RAIDER team

Press Releases Details
​Sikorsky S-97 RAIDER™ Helicopter Achieves Successful First Flight


http://www.sikorsky.com/pages/AboutSikorsky/PressreleaseDetails.aspx?pressreleaseid=311


Ace1


Ace1


jurrien visser (JuVi op Twitter)

Watch This Superfast Raider Helicopter Take Its First Flight / Sikorsky, the S-97 Raider

22.5.2015

http://www.popsci.com/watch-superfast-raider-helicopter-takes-first-flight

Elzenga

Citaat van: Sparkplug op 22/05/2015 | 22:53 uur
Er is in dit filmpje ook helemaal geen stof e.d. te zien. Naar mijn mening kan niet de conclusie worden getrokken dat de downwash minder sterk is.
Dat is wat de fabrikant zelf stelt...Je ziet wel waar steeds stof/rommel een rol kan spelen de duwpropeller uit staat...ben benieuwd hoe dit in de testen zal uitpakken.

Sparkplug

Citaat van: Elzenga op 22/05/2015 | 22:08 uur
Vraagstuk van de duwpropeller en grondeffect en rommel lijkt te zijn opgelost. De downwash is minder sterk plus de duwpropeller staat stil als er geland en opgestegen wordt vanaf grof terrein..
Er is in dit filmpje ook helemaal geen stof e.d. te zien. Naar mijn mening kan niet de conclusie worden getrokken dat de downwash minder sterk is.
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Elzenga

Vraagstuk van de duwpropeller en grondeffect en rommel lijkt te zijn opgelost. De downwash is minder sterk plus de duwpropeller staat stil als er geland en opgestegen wordt vanaf grof terrein..


Ace1

Citaat van: Sparkplug op 04/05/2015 | 21:41 uur
De USMC stelt weer andere eisen. Voor moest een MV-22 net zoveel troepen als de voorganger (CH-46) kunnen vervoeren.

Klopt en dat is het vreemde eraan de MV-22 is juist een veel groter dan een CH-46.


Sparkplug

Citaat van: Elzenga op 04/05/2015 | 17:51 uur
Ik vind het typerend dat beide modellen een rompvorm hebben die welhaast een kopie lijkt van die van de Blackhawk. Het gaat dus in feiten vooral om een andere aandrijfvorm...met doel sneller en verder te kunnen vliegen. Bij het Amerikaanse korps Mariniers heeft die behoefte...ingevuld via de MV22.. een specifieke reden..namelijk vanaf grotere afstand (door groeiende bereik antischeepsraketten) vanaf amfibische landingsschepen zo snel mogelijk het achterland van een landingslocatie bereiken en veilig stellen.

Heeft deze army-behoefte ook zo'n reden? Zo niet, dan lijkt mij zoals 5m@sh_1up stelt de verdere evolutie van bestaande transporthelikopters voldoende en verstandiger.
Dat de romp op die van de UH-60 Blackhawk lijkt, heeft mede te maken met de hoeveelheid troepen die de US Army per utility helikopterontwerp wil vervoeren. Voor hen moet de opvolger van de UH-60 net als de voorganger van deze (UH-1D/H) een squad kunnen vervoeren. Voor meer troepen gebruiken zij de CH-47 Chinook of de opvolger van deze (JMR-Heavy).

De USMC stelt weer andere eisen. Voor moest een MV-22 net zoveel troepen als de voorganger (CH-46) kunnen vervoeren.
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.

-- Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.

Elzenga

#52
Ik vind het typerend dat beide modellen een rompvorm hebben die welhaast een kopie lijkt van die van de Blackhawk. Het gaat dus in feiten vooral om een andere aandrijfvorm...met doel sneller en verder te kunnen vliegen. Bij het Amerikaanse korps Mariniers heeft die behoefte...ingevuld via de MV22.. een specifieke reden..namelijk vanaf grotere afstand (door groeiende bereik antischeepsraketten) vanaf amfibische landingsschepen zo snel mogelijk het achterland van een landingslocatie bereiken en veilig stellen.

Heeft deze army-behoefte ook zo'n reden? Zo niet, dan lijkt mij zoals 5m@sh_1up stelt de verdere evolutie van bestaande transporthelikopters voldoende en verstandiger.

(Ik ben benieuwd hoe men dit hier in Europa gaat invullen..Airbus Helicopters kwam met de X3..maar verder kom ik weinig tegen* dan inderdaad die evolutionaire aanpak..nog betere rotorbladen..betere en sterkere motoren en materialen.. *Niet helemaal...X3 wordt doorontwikkeld naar H3 concept )

5m@sh_1up

Inderdaad Oldenhave! De spijker op z'n kop.

Succesvolle types zoals de Apache, Blackhawk en Chinook moeten gewoon doorontwikkeld worden. De ontwerpen zijn gewoon steengoed en betrouwbaar, en niet onbelangrijk: combat-proven.

Ik zou zeggen, zet op de toekomst in op het verbeteren van die types. Betere drivetrains, betere motoren, betere avionics, betere communicatie systemen, meer integratie op het digitale slagveld. Dan pas ben je goed bezig. Bij die prototypes zoals in dit topic krijg ik maar een naar gevoel.