Sikorsky Raider X - Misplaced Pages

American high-speed scout and attack compound helicopter

Raider X
Role	Reconnaissance and attack compound helicopterType of aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Sikorsky Aircraft
Status	Cancelled
Developed from	Sikorsky S-97

The Sikorsky Raider X (stylized in all-caps as RAIDER X) (Sikorsky S-102) is a compound helicopter concept with two coaxial rotors and a single pusher propeller, designed by the Sikorsky Aircraft division of Lockheed Martin for the United States Army Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program. The Raider X concept was announced in October 2019. In March 2020, the Army selected the Raider X and the Bell 360 Invictus from a field of five design concept candidates. The Raider X and 360 Invictus concepts were to be built as flying prototypes for a competition scheduled for 2023. The FARA program was cancelled in 2024.

Development

Contracts were awarded in April 2019 to develop concept design candidates for FARA; five different teams were selected, including Sikorsky.

Sikorsky presented the Raider X concept candidate at the annual meeting of the Association of the United States Army on October 14, 2019. The Raider X concept was derived from the earlier Sikorsky S-97 Raider, which had been developed for the Army's Armed Aerial Scout program; the S-97 was in turn developed from the Sikorsky X2 prototype compound coaxial helicopter. A larger Sikorsky–Boeing SB-1 Defiant was also developed from the X2 under the Army's Future Vertical Lift program to create a joint multi-role rotorcraft; the SB-1 was a candidate for the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft program. The Sikorsky compound helicopter designs all use coaxial rigid rotors and a pusher propeller, which Sikorsky has collectively named "X2 Technology".

On March 25, 2020, the Army selected the Raider X and Bell 360 Invictus concept design candidates to proceed to an eventual flight competition; flying prototypes of each candidate design will be constructed, followed by test flights in 2022 leading up to a competitive flying demonstration no later than fall 2023. Sikorsky had already begun construction of its Raider X prototype by February 2020.

The US Army is cancelling its next generation Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program, service officials announced on 8 February 2024, taking a potential multi-billion-dollar contract off the table and throwing the service’s long-term aviation plans into doubt.

Raider X was powered up in April 2024, but Sikorsky has no plans for flights.

Design

The Raider X, as required by FARA program specifications, is designed to use a single General Electric T901 engine. The GE T901 was developed under the Army's Improved Turbine Engine Program as the new engine for existing and future Army rotorcraft. Based on S-97 and X2 performance, Raider X is expected to have a maximum speed exceeding 250 kn (460 km/h; 290 mph) with a service ceiling greater than 9,000 feet (2,700 m). Sikorsky considers the S-97 to be an 80% scale model of Raider X; Raider X is expected to weigh 14,000 lb (6,400 kg). Swift Engineering will design and build the fuselage.

The cockpit uses side-by-side seats instead of the tandem seating typical of American attack helicopters; internal weapons and sensors are mounted using a modular system, in accordance with FARA specifications, to anticipate future upgrades and obsolescence.

Specifications (Raider X)

General characteristics

Crew: two
Powerplant: 1 × General Electric T901 turboshaft, 3,000 shp (2,200 kW) (main powerplant)
Main rotor diameter: 2 × 39 ft (12 m)

Performance

References

Sikorsky Lifts the Army
Judson, Jen (23 April 2019). "US Army picks 5 teams to design new attack recon helicopter". Defense News. Archived from the original on 10 January 2024. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
^ Gallagher, Sean (14 October 2019). "Sikorsky makes its bid for Army's next scout copter". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
Parsons, Dan (16 March 2020). "Bell's Valor, Sikorsky/Boeing Defiant advance in U.S. Army Future Assault Aircraft program". Vertical. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
"Game-changing X2 Technology™ for Future Tactical Missions". Lockheed Martin. Archived from the original on 13 December 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
Host, Pat (25 March 2020). "US Army selects Bell, Sikorsky for FARA-CP programme". Jane's Defence Weekly. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
Judson, Jen (3 October 2018). "US Army triggers design competition for future attack reconnaissance helicopter". Defense News. Archived from the original on 10 January 2024. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
Reim, Garrett (25 March 2020). "US Army selects Bell and Sikorsky to build FARA prototypes". FlightGlobal. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
Judson, Jen (20 February 2020). "Lockheed's Raider X enters construction in advance of US Army's decision on way forward". Defense News. Archived from the original on 24 February 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
Everstine, Brian; Trimble, Steve (8 February 2024). "U.S. Army Cancels FARA In Overhaul Of Aviation Plans". Aviation Week Intelligence Network. Informa Markets. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
"Sikorsky powers up Raider X prototype but has no plans to fly".
Worley, Sam (17 October 2019). "Meet Raider-X, America's Next-Gen Chopper". Blades of Glory . General Electric. Archived from the original on 13 November 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
Judson, Jen (15 April 2019). "Army sees path to accelerate ITEP engine program with GE". Defense News. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
Parsons, Dan (14 October 2019). "Sikorsky reveals Raider X for Army's FARA program". Vertical. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
"Swift Engineering Selected for the Design and Construction of FARA Airframe for Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company". Swift Engineering. 23 December 2019. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023.

External links

Raider X at Lockheed Martin

v t e Sikorsky aircraft
Fixed-wing aircraft (company designations)	S-1 S-2 S-3 S-4 S-5 S-6 S-7 S-8 S-9 S-10 S-11 S-12 S-13 S-14 S-15 S-16 S-17 S-18 S-19 S-20 S-21 S-22/23/24/25/26/27 S-28 S-29-A S-30 S-31 S-32 S-33 S-34 S-35 S-36 S-37 S-38 S-39 S-40 S-41 S-42 S-43 VS-44 S-45
Fixed-wing aircraft (military designations)	C-6 C-28 JRS JR2S PS P2S RS XBLR-3 XPBS XSS XV-2
Helicopters (company designations)	VS-300 (S-46) S-47 S-48 S-49 S-50 S-51 S-52 S-53 S-54 S-55 S-56 S-57 S-58 S-59 S-60 S-61 S-61L/N S-61R S-62 S-63 S-64 S-65 S-66 S-67 S-68 S-69 S-70 S-71 S-72 S-73 S-74 S-75 S-76 S-80 S-92 S-95 S-97 S-100 S-102 S-103 S-300 S-333 S-434
Helicopters (military designations)	SH-3 Sea King HH-3E/F R-4 H-5 H-6 H-18 H-19 Chickasaw H-34 Choctaw CH-37 Mojave XH-39 HH-52A Seaguard CH-53 Sea Stallion CH-53E Super Stallion CH-53K King Stallion MH-53 CH-54 Tarhe UH-60 Black Hawk HH-60G Pave Hawk HH-60J/MH-60T MH-60R/S Seahawk SH-60B/F Seahawk H-60J/K VH-60 RAH-66 Comanche VH-92 Patriot CH-124 Sea King CH-148 Cyclone HLH
Experimental aircraft	Cypher/Cypher II Firefly Raider Raider X SB-1 X2 XBLR-3 XV-2

Categories:

Development

Design

Specifications (Raider X)

See also

References

External links