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| Sikorsky-Boeing Defiant X helicopter |
- The UH-60 Black Hawk has been in service for 40 years, and the new Sikorsky-Boeing Defiant X helicopter is one of two possible replacements.
- Using a coaxial rotor system and a push propeller, the Defiant X can travel at twice the speed of a Black Hawk.
- The helicopter also makes use of other technologies to increase its speed, range, and survival capabilities.
- The Defiant X has twice the range and speed of the world's best helo.
- Here's the Potentially More Terrifying Helicopter to Replace the Black Hawk.
Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky and Boeing, the two companies competing to replace the UH-60 Black Hawk in the US Army's inventory, have released the final specifications for their new helicopter. The Defiant X was made to replace the Black Hawk. It can travel twice as fast and twice as far as the Black Hawk, giving Army air assault forces more freedom on the battlefield than ever before.
Sikorsky/Boeing submitted the Defiant X to the Army's Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program, which aims to replace the Black Hawks that were first put into service in the 1980s. The UH-60 has served the Army well, and it has been updated with new technology on a regular basis, but the service now feels it is time for a brand new aircraft that can take advantage of the progress made in the aerospace industry over the past four decades.
Defiant X Helicopter Specs: Will It Replace the UH-60 Black Hawk?
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| Defiant X helicopter |
From the SB>1 DEFIANT technology demonstrator helicopter, which the Defiant
X grew out of, the Defiant X was made. During test flights, the SB>1
DEFIANT reached 238 miles per hour, and it was said that it could reach 288
miles per hour. The UH-60M, the most common variant of the Black Hawk, can
reach a top speed of 172 miles per hour while cruising.
Sikorsky
doesn't say how fast the Defiant X can go at its fastest, but he says it is
"twice as fast" as the Black Hawk. A minimum of 340 mph in top speed is
implied by that.
The two sets of coaxial propellers on the Defiant
X allow it to reach such high speeds. This set-up stabilizes the plane without
the need for a tail rotor, which frees up space in the back of the plane. The
new helicopter uses the space it has by putting a push propeller on it. This
gives it a second, complementary way to move. The landing gear of the Defiant
X can be retracted while in flight, making it more aerodynamic than the Black
Hawk.
Fly-by-wire controls are another new addition to this
helicopter. These convert the pilot's actual motions into electrical signals
that are processed by the flight computer and ultimately translated into
commands for the aircraft's control surfaces. It aids in getting rid of the
cables and pulleys that are normally used for controlling an aircraft and
which could be damaged by enemy fire, resulting in a loss of control.
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| The helicopter also makes use of other technologies to increase its speed, range, and survival capabilities. The Defiant X has twice the range and speed of the world's best helo. |
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Sikorsky asserts that the Defiant X has numerous additional capabilities. The
helicopter's thermal signature has been changed to make it harder for infrared
sensors on enemy ships to find it and to make it less likely that
infrared-guided shoulder-fired missiles will hit it.
The
helicopter's thermal signature has been changed to make it harder for infrared
sensors on enemy ships to find it and to make it less likely that
infrared-guided shoulder-fired missiles will hit it.
Sikorsky says
that the helicopter is much more agile than its predecessors. This means that
it can fly low over forests and other rough terrain, including the megacities
that the Army thinks will be the battlefields of the future.
The
Defiant X is a medium transport helicopter. As such, it usually comes with a
pair of 7.62-millimeter machine guns mounted on the doors. This gives it a
limited ability to self-escort.
While the Defiant X shown in
Sikorsky's photos is shown without any weapons, the final product will almost
certainly have weapons. One possibility is the use of remote weapon systems
that, like the Army's CROWS system for ground vehicles, can be used at high
speeds and with increased accuracy. Unfortunately, at least for the time
being, these systems are bulky and would reduce the Defiant X's lifting
capacity.
Army aviation units can expect to receive their first
Defiant X aircraft by 2030. It will compete with the Bell V-280 Valor for the
FLRAA contract in 2022.
