Page 67 - World Airnews Magazine July Edition 2020

NEWS DIGITAL

BLACK HAWK REPLACEMENT

REACHES SPEED MILESTONE

The army also awarded a contract to a The Defiant programme has spent many
Textron-Bell team, which built the V-280 hours testing the engine and other systems
A Sikorsky-Boeing team has an- Valor, a tiltrotor-design helicopter that on the ground in a special test stand
nounced that the experimental helicopter completed its first test flight in December designed to collect data and predict how
prototype competing to replace the Army's 2017. the prototype will perform during flight.
UH-60 Black Hawk has completed a flight Since then, the Valor has exceeded "I think the key takeaway is, we are
at nearly 205 knots, or 236 miles per hour, speeds of 300 knots, or 345 mph. seeing exactly the performance our
and is just months away from exceeding The Defiant's test flight at 205 knots "is analytical tools have predicted; this gives
250 knots, nearly 290 mph. just a number, but it's a number that you even greater confidence as we continue to
The SB-1 Defiant prototype is currently are not typically accustomed to hearing expand the speed envelope and manoeu-
competing against the V-280 Valor with respect to a helicopter," Bill Fell, a vres of Defiant," Macklin said.
prototype, developed by Textron Inc. and former Army aviator and test pilot in the In March, the army awarded competitive
Bell, in the Army's Future Long Range Defiant programme, said. agreements to Bell Textron and Sikorsky to
Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) effort. "When I started as an Army aviator in continue into the competitive demonstra-
That competition is part of the larger the old [OH-58] Kiowas and [AH-1] Cobras, tion and risk reduction phase of the FLRAA
Future Vertical Lift endeavour to equip the you were [flying] at 100 knots; then we programme. This is scheduled to last until
army with faster, longer-range helicopters graduated to Black Hawks and Apaches and 2022, the year the army plans to select one
beginning in 2030. it's 130 to 140 knots,' he said. vendor to eventually produce FLRAA.
"We are really proud of this milestone "We went 205 knots with less than 50% Randy Rotte, director of business devel-
and what our team has achieved," said Jay of the installed prop power, so expect a lot opment for Boeing cargo helicopters and
Macklin, director of Future Vertical Lift more in the future, because we had a lot future vertical lift, said he is confident that
Business Development for Sikorsky. more prop power to apply to this machine." Defiant will give aviators what they need to
"Exceeding 200 knots is significant also The Defiant was designed to fly at a survive in the "most lethal and complicated
because it's beyond any conventional minimum speed of 230 knots, "so we will battlefields today and in the future."
helicopter's speed." go well in excess of that, in excess of 250 "The survivability through the low-level
Sikorsky, which is owned by Lockheed knots," Fell said. high-speed manoeuvres, the ability to fly in
Martin and Boeing built the Defiant after "It's not weeks, it's not years, it's close formation and into those dark, dusty,
the Army awarded the team a contract probably in the order of a few months tight [landing zones] ... it's going to enable
in 2014 as part of the Joint Multi Role before we get out to maximum speed," Fell our army's ground forces' commanders
Technology Demonstrator (JMRT-D) said. "It's hard to say because it's all based to conduct operations that are nearly
programme. off of success here on the test bed." impossible today." Q

JUST

PASSING

THROUGH

Phenom 300 (A40-CY) – A great shot depicting the Omani Police Phenom 300 that transited through Malta
International airport when it stopped for fuel, with the final destination being Seville. Photo by Andre Abela.

World Airnews | July Extra 2020
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