Sikorsky shows off S-97 capabilities in flight test

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US helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky has released footage of its S-97 Raider prototype showing off its capabilities.

The video shows the compound helicopter performing several maneuvers and its high-speed cruise mode.

The 11,000 lb (5,000kg) S-97 is a compound helicopter based on Lockheed Martin’s X2 Technology that uses lift-offset coaxial rotors with a pusher propeller and variable speed drive.

The attack helicopter has a top speed of 280mph (440km/h) and can carry up to 6 troops and 2 pilots. Development of the X2 technology began more than 15 years ago and the prototype S- made its first flight in 2015.

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company recently missed out on a lucrative US$7.1 billion contract to build the US Army’s next attack helicopter, the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter replacement.  The company’s Defiant X, based on the same X2 technology, lost out to Bell’s V-280 Valor.

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Ben has worked as a journalist and editor, covering technology, engineering and industry for the last 20 years. Initially writing about subjects from nuclear submarines to autonomous cars to future design and manufacturing technologies, he was editor of a leading UK-based engineering magazine before becoming editor of Aerospace Testing in 2017.

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