The Lockheed Martin Sikorsky-Boeing SB>1 DEFIANT® efficiently accomplished FLRAA mission profile check flights, together with confined space landings and low-level flight operations. These flights validate DEFIANT’s relevancy to the Military’s mission, offering agility on the goal (also called the “X”), and elevated survivability, all whereas decreasing pilot workload. SB>1 DEFIANT is the know-how demonstrator proving out transformational capabilities for the DEFIANT X weapon system, the Sikorsky-Boeing workforce providing for the U.S. Military’s Future Lengthy-Vary Assault Plane (FLRAA) competitors as a part of the Military’s Future Vertical Carry program. DEFIANT X will allow crews to fly low and quick by means of complicated terrain, the place Military aviators spend most of their time. It’s going to prolong capabilities of Military Aviation on the fashionable battlefield – and is designed to slot in the identical footprint as a BLACK HAWK. With DEFIANT X, the U.S. Military will ship troops and cargo in future fight at twice the vary of the present fleet.
“It’s what we name constructing fight energy quickly, and plane just like the DEFIANT X can try this,” stated Tony Crutchfield, retired U.S. Military Lieutenant Basic and now vice chairman of Military Methods at Boeing. “Within the Pacific, it’s much more vital as a result of your traces of operation are going to be dispersed over a large space; you’re going to have these small bases and provide traces that’ll be positioned both on ships or on islands. You’re going to need to transfer extra property, maneuver in confined terrain and survive to construct that fight energy sooner than your adversary can – so you possibly can win.”
Commercial
“We totally demonstrated DEFIANT’s potential to execute the FLRAA mission profile by flying 236 knots in degree flight, then decreasing thrust on the propulsor to quickly decelerate as we approached the confined, and unimproved, touchdown zone,” stated Invoice Fell, DEFIANT chief flight check pilot at Sikorsky and a retired U.S. Military Grasp aviator. “The sort of degree physique deceleration allowed us to take care of situational consciousness and look at the touchdown zone all through the method and touchdown with out the standard nose-up helicopter deceleration. This confined space was extraordinarily tight, requiring us to delay descent till practically over the touchdown spot, adopted by a near-vertical drop. We landed DEFIANT exactly on the target with little effort as we descended into this slim gap whereas sustaining clearance on all sides.”
DEFIANT X incorporates Sikorsky X2™ Know-how to function at excessive speeds whereas sustaining low-speed dealing with qualities. This vital functionality gives pilots with elevated maneuverability and survivability in high-threat environments, permitting them to penetrate enemy defenses whereas decreasing publicity to enemy hearth. DEFIANT X’s X2 coaxial rotor system and pusher prop permits for a excessive diploma of maneuverability in and across the goal which can be immediately linked to survivability. DEFIANT achievements embody:
Higher than 60-degree banked turns.
Demonstrating mission-relevant cargo capability by lifting a 5,300-pound Guided A number of Launch Rocket System exterior load.
Exceeding 245 knots in degree flight.
Demonstrated Stage 1 low-speed agility with fly-by-wire controls.
Integration of U.S. Military check pilots into the Defiant program.
Based mostly on the Collier Award-winning X2 Know-how.
