WASHINGTON, Oct. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Sikorsky, a
Lockheed Martin company (NYSE: LMT), today introduced RAIDER
X™, its concept for an agile, lethal and survivable
compound coaxial helicopter, specifically designed for securing
vertical lift dominance against evolving peer and near-peer threats
on the future battlefield. Through the U.S. Army's Future Attack
Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program, RAIDER X is the
out-front platform in the Service's revolutionary approach for
rapid development and delivery of game changing technology and
warfighter capabilities, equipped for the most demanding and
contested environments. RAIDER X enables the reach, protection and
lethality required to remain victorious in future
conflicts.
View the RAIDER X
video.
"RAIDER X converges everything we've learned in years of
developing, testing and refining X2 Technology and delivers
warfighters a dominant, survivable and intelligent system that will
excel in tomorrow's battlespace where aviation overmatch is
critical," said Frank St. John,
executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission
Systems. "The X2 Technology family of aircraft is a low-risk
solution and is scalable based on our customers' requirements."
RAIDER X draws on Lockheed Martin's broad expertise in
developing innovative systems using the latest digital design and
manufacturing techniques. Sikorsky's RAIDER X prototype offers:
- Exceptional Performance: The X2 rigid rotor provides
increased performance including; highly responsive maneuverability,
enhanced low-speed hover, off-axis hover, and level acceleration
and braking. These attributes make us unbeatable at the X.
- Agile, Digital Design: State-of-the-art digital design
and manufacturing is already in use on other Lockheed Martin and
Sikorsky production programs such as CH-53K, CH-148 and F-35, and
will enable the Army to not only lower the acquisition cost, but
enable rapid, affordable upgrades to stay ahead of the evolving
threat.
- Adaptability: Modern open systems architecture
(MOSA)-based avionics and mission systems, offering "plug-and-play"
options for computing, sensors, survivability and weapons,
benefiting lethality and survivability, operational mission
tailoring and competitive acquisitions.
- Sustainable/Maintenance: Designed to decrease aircraft
operating costs by utilizing new technologies to shift from routine
maintenance and inspections to self-monitoring and condition-based
maintenance, which will increase aircraft availability, reduce
sustainment footprint forward and enable flexible maintenance
operating periods.
- Growth/Mission Flexibility: Focused on the future and
ever evolving threat capabilities, X2 compound coaxial technology
provides unmatched potential and growth margin for increased speed,
combat radius and payload. This potential and growth margin further
enables operational mission flexibility which includes a broader
range of aircraft configurations and loadouts to accommodate
specific mission requirements.
The nationwide supply team that Sikorsky has comprised to build
RAIDER X will join company leaders today to introduce RAIDER X
during the annual conference of the Association of the United
States Army in Washington,
D.C.
"RAIDER X is the culmination of decades of development, and a
testament to our innovation and passion for solving our customers'
needs," said Sikorsky President Dan
Schultz. "By leveraging the strength of the entire Lockheed
Martin Corporation, we will deliver the only solution that gives
the U.S. Army the superiority needed to meet its mission
requirements."
Proven X2 Technology: Scalable, Sustainable,
Affordable
With RAIDER X, Sikorsky introduces the latest design in its X2
family of aircraft. To date, X2 aircraft have
achieved/demonstrated:
- Speeds in excess of 250 knots
- High altitude operations in excess of 9,000 feet
- Low-speed and high-speed maneuver envelopes out to 60+ degrees
angle of bank
- ADS-33B (Aeronautical Design Standard) Level 1 handling
qualities with multiple pilots
- Flight controls optimization and vibration mitigation
"The power of X2 is game changing. It combines the best elements
of low-speed helicopter performance with the cruise performance of
an airplane," said Sikorsky experimental test pilot Bill Fell, a retired Army pilot who has flown
nearly every RAIDER test flight. "Every flight we take in our S-97
RAIDER today reduces risk and optimizes our FARA prototype, RAIDER
X."
The development of X2 Technology and the RAIDER program has been
funded entirely by significant investments by Sikorsky, Lockheed
Martin and industry partners.
For additional information, visit our website:
www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/products/fara-raider-x.html
About Lockheed Martin
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a
global security and aerospace company that employs approximately
105,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the
research, design, development, manufacture, integration and
sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and
services.
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sikorsky-introduces-raider-x-a-nextgen-light-attack-reconnaissance-helicopter-based-on-its-proven-x2-technology-300937613.html
SOURCE Lockheed Martin Corporation