Page 53 - Australian Defence Magazine July-August 2021

JULY-AUGUST 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
FUTURE VERTICAL LIFT 53
The US Army has asked both competitors to deliver trans- formational capabilities because, in the 2030 timeframe, combat won’t be the same as it faced in Afghanistan.”
FUTURE ATTACK RECONNAISSANCE AIRCRAFT
In development terms, the FARA competition is some way behind the FLRAA aircraft, but it is still expected to enter US Army service, in an initial increment of capability, in the 2030 timeframe.
The Army refers to FARA as the “knife fighter” of the future and although smaller and lighter than the FL- RAA design, it is expected to be extremely agile with a specified top speed of at least 180 knots. It is also
intended to perform effectively and with significantly en- hanced lethality against peer and near-peer adversaries in the future battlespace.
The two competitors are again Bell and Sikorsky and again each company is proposing a solution based on dif- ferent propulsion systems. The Bell 360 Invictus will use an articulated rotor system, together with a lift-sharing wing; while the Sikorsky S-97 Raider X will be powered by an offset coaxial rotor and ‘pusher’ propellor system simi- lar to the Defiant X.
“This new generation of aircraft is going to give the US Army the ability to fight and survive in the extremely danger- ous environments they expect to be flying in,” Macklin said.
ABOVE: The Sikorsky S-97 Raider X will be powered by an offset coaxial rotor. TOP: The Bell 360 Invictus will use an articulated rotor system and a lift-sharing wing. LEFT: Bell’s V-280 Valor and 360 Invictus.
SIKORSKY BELL