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Sujet: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Jeu 13 Déc 2012 - 12:39
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Citation :
Sikorsky S-97 Raider light attack helicopter
In the 2020s the US military could be flying the fastest rotorcraft in the world — if Sikorsky’s S-97 Raider light attack helicopter and other concepts are successful in their bids for government procurements expected in the next decade.
Sikorsky is pitching a family of helicopter concepts that employ a contra-rotating co-axial rotor and pusher propeller with fly-by-wire technology to achieve a cruising speed in excess of 200kt.
These technologies were developed under Sikorsky’s X2 programme. This high-speed family includes the S-97 Raider light attack helicopter concept, a vertical unmanned aerial system (VUAS) version, and medium utility and medium attack helicopters, analogous to the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and Boeing AH-64 Apache respectively.
The second effort is the US Army’s Aerial Armed Scout (AAS) information collation and assessment activity, managed by its Program Executive Office Aviation, based at the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. Today the Bell OH-58 Kiowa Warrior carries out the US Army’s armed aerial scout mission.
The S-97 Raider is Sikorsky’s submission for AAS. Flown by two pilots, the machine carries Hellfire missiles, 2.75in rockets and has 0.5in and 7.62mm calibre guns. With a maximum gross weight of 10,495lb including an internal auxiliary fuel tank, the S-97 is expected to have a range of 570km and an endurance greater than 2.7 hours with a cruising speed of over 200kt. The Raider utilises an eight-blade design, with four on each rotor, for ‘smoother flight and lower vibration’, according to Sikorsky information, and is powered by a 2,600hp engine. The Raider, Sikorsky also admits, may ‘look slightly different’ compared to the concept images and the mock-up.
First flight for the first Raider prototype is expected in 2014, with a second demonstrator flying six months later. Mr. Engebretson from Sikorsky explained that 2014 was the target because the company believes the US Army will start a procurement process with a request for proposals by that date. However, there will be no mission systems on board the prototypes in 2014, and they will instead serve to demonstrate the design and aerodynamic capabilities of the airframe and propulsion systems. The first prototype will become a Sikorsky test asset. The second will demonstrate X2 technology to the military.
The aircraft’s preliminary design review took place in mid-August 2011 and there were ‘no surprises’ according to Engebretson. The initial fabrication of components will start this year, with construction of the two prototypes planned for 2013. Sikorsky is building these prototypes with its own money and is putting together a team of partners. Aurora Flight Sciences has announced it is part of the Raider team. It is to design and build the prototype airframes. Media have also reported that General Electric Aviation is to provide the 2,500 to 3,000shp class CT7-8 engine for the Raider prototypes. The engine is also used in Sikorsky’s S-92 and MH-60M helicopters. In helicopter mode, with the pusher propeller idle, Sikorsky is claiming its co-axial rotor produces half the noise of a Boeing AH-6 Little Bird or Kiowa Warrior. This claim is based on noise levels recorded from a lOOkt flight with the X2 technology demonstrator.
Engebretson would not say who the other team members are, but he expects all the partners to be announced once all the contracts are signed. ‘We still have a couple of companies to negotiate with’, Sikorsky’s AAS programme director explained. The company declines to give a figure for the development cost of the Raider but says it will amount to ‘multiples’ of the $50 million spent on the X2.
As well as the Raider, Sikorsky has submitted other ‘options’ for AAS, but they declined to say what in size from light armed reconnaissance to heavy attack’. Asked if that range would mean Sikorsky was also pitching its medium attack concept, Engebretson said, ‘large attack would be overkill for something that is to do the job done by the Kiowa [Warrior]‘, indicating that it wasn’t.
Engebretson preferred to describe the company’s four concepts as helicopter missions to which X2 demonstrator technology can be applied. The VUAS version could be a candidate for the US Air Force’s expected Follow-On Unmanned Aircraft System acquisition. The DoD is expecting the USAF to have about 100 of the F/O UAS by 2021, with operations beginning in 2018. The F/O UAS is viewed as a successor to the MQ-9 Reaper. With its 200kt-plus cruise capability, the VUAS would also be applicable to the US Marine Corp’s Group 4 UAS, which is to have surveillance and strike capabilities. The DoD is planning for the latter to become operational in 2019.
Sikorsky’s medium utility and attack concepts are part of ongoing work the company is undertaking for DoD-funded studies. It has a contract for what is termed Joint Multi Role or JMR. The JMR is part of the DoD’s FVL effort. Engebretson explained that, for Sikorsky, JMR is focused on the medium-class aircraft because it represents the ‘largest portion of the fleet’, namely Black Hawks and Apaches. The requirements made public so far for JMR are a minimum cruise speed of 170kt, with a goal of up to 300kt, a payload capacity of up to 20,000lb or up to 24 passengers, and a range of over 400km. A 2017 technology demonstration has been proposed for JMR.
‘Only X2 can give the high performance and preserve all of the helicopter attributes, efficient low-speed flight and hot and high performance’, Engebretson argued, comparing the X2 technologies with compound and tilt-rotor designs. The DoD-funded Piasecki Aircraft X-49A was a compound helicopter. With a modified Sikorsky SH-60F Seahawk airframe, it had a wing and a tail-mounted vectored-thrust ducted propeller. It flew in 2007. However, the tilt-rotor Engebretson refers to is the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey. Comparing the X2 concepts to the Osprey, Engebretson said that only the X2 had the ‘longer range and higher speed’ capability that the V-22 offers, while also keeping all the ‘helicopter attributes.’
However, Sikorsky faces competition from another contra-rotating, twin-rotor, pusher-propeller vehicle, the OH-58D AVX. This is the proposal from Fort Worth, Texas-based AVX Aircraft. It is a variant of the in-service Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, and AVX’s founders are former Bell engineers.
Busy promoting X2 technology for US government vertical lift needs, Sikorsky is not yet in a position to sell the co-axial rotor, pusher-propeller technology abroad. It hasn’t got clearance yet to talk in detail about X2 concepts with foreign governments but Engebretson said they had ‘started to talk to the Department of State’ about getting export approval.
For now, the Armed Aerial Scout will be the first test for the X2′s contra-rotating coaxial rotor and pusher-propeller technology and its S-97 Raider concept. If it wins, the tail rotor, at least, could become a thing of the past for US military rotorcraft.
http://www.kamov.net
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farewell Général de corps d'armée (ANP)
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Mar 26 Nov 2013 - 15:35
Citation :
Premier vol de l’hélicoptère électrique à 18 rotors
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Mer 19 Fév 2014 - 13:28
Citation :
Production of Sikorsky’s S-97 Raider continues on track
Sikorsky continues to make progress on its S-97 Raider prototype helicopter, completing roughly one-quarter of the build cycle on the coaxial rotor, pusher-prop helicopter.
The company tells Flightglobal it remains confident in the viability of the design and the potential for an order by US Army, which is examining a replacement for its Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior scout helicopters.
The fuselage of the first Raider, which is made mostly of carbon fiber and other composite materials, rests in a hanger at Sikorsky’s sprawling facility not far from West Palm Beach, Florida.
asset image The first fuselage of the S-97 Raider. Sikorsky.
The fuselage arrived in September from Aurora Flight Sciences, and is now being built into the first aircraft by a roughly 15 Sikorsky employees – largely the same crew that assembled the earlier X-2 test aircraft, says the company.
Sikorsky recently completed successful bird strike tests designed to ensure the aircraft’s fuselage would adequately absorb the shock endured from striking a bird the size of a chicken at 235kt, the aircraft’s expected top horizontal flight speed.
The company also completed successful fuel system drop tests to ensure the integrity of fuel tanks during a crash.
In April or May Sikorsky expects to begin drive train testing on an outdoor “transmission systems test bed.”
First flight is scheduled for late 2014. Initial test flights will be conducted with two test pilots, but Sikorsky may add a third test pilot to the programme after roughly 10h of flight time, says the company.
Like the experimental X-2, Raider has two counter-rotating coaxial rotors and a rear pusher prop that the company says will propel the aircraft to speeds of greater than 200kt.
The pusher prop also will make Raider much more maneuverable than conventional helicopters, with the ability to hover in a nose-up or nose-down attitude, a feature that will let pilots more-effectively fire at targets.
Sikorsky’s stated price of $15 million each makes Raider a more expensive option for the army than conventional helicopters.
But the company says the US military will find value in Raider’s speed and capabilities, and it thinks Raider will become a serious contender for a scout replacement once test flights demonstrate its ability.
In addition, Sikorsky says oil companies are “very keen” on X-2 technology as an efficient executive transport to offshore oil platforms.
http://www.flightglobal.com
_________________ Le Prophéte (saw) a dit: Les Hommes Les meilleurs sont ceux qui sont les plus utiles aux autres
jf16 General de Division
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Lun 3 Mar 2014 - 16:17
Citation :
Nouvelle étape pour le programme Matrix de Sikorsky
Le 28/02/2014 à 19:40 | Par Gabrielle Carpel et Duncan Macrae
Le programme Matrix de Sikorsky vient de franchir une nouvelle étape avec le début de la phase 2 du programme d’essais en vol du démonstrateur S-76 SARA (Sikorsky Autonomous Research Aircraft).
La technologie Matrix est un outil qui vise à aider le pilote en conférant à l'hélicoptère une plus grande autonomie. Elle doit permettre d'accroître la fiabilité des appareils et d'effectuer des missions complexes, opérations à basse altitude ou en terrain accidenté. Le but n'est pas de remplacer les pilotes mais de leur laisser les mains libres pour leur permettre de se concentrer sur leur mission, que ce soit des vols commerciaux ou militaires.
La plateforme Matrix se compose de capteurs, tel un Lidar, d'algorithmes de calcul – LLI (Low Level Intelligence) et HLI (Hight Level Intelligence) – et d'éléments mécaniques qui permettent la prise en charge du pilotage. Elle recrée ainsi une vision virtuelle du monde réel et l'intègre afin de pouvoir faire voler un appareil sans aide du pilote, depuis le décollage jusqu'à l'atterrissage. Après un premier vol au mois de juillet dernier, une première mission autonome a été effectuée à la fin de l’année dernière.
Pour cette deuxième phase d’essais, la plateform SARA a été doté d’une liaison de données et de capteurs multispectraux. Parmi les objectifs pour 2014, des démonstrations de vol en sécurité dans un environnement présentant de multiples obstacles, ainsi que la capacité d’appontage en mer et d’atterrissage dans des conditions de « brownout ».
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Mar 6 Mai 2014 - 12:36
Citation :
Sikorsky sets internal first flight goal for S-97
Sikorsky has set an internal goal to fly the S-97 high-speed helicopter by 1 December to kick-off a demonstration aimed at securing a military customer for the self-funded project.
A computer display inside the S-97 final assembly hangar on 5 May showed the S-97 is "209 days to first flight," allowing for the event to occur no later than 1 December on schedule.
Sikorsky opened the doors to the S-97 production hangar to reporters as part of the rollout ceremony for the CH-53K King Stallion.
The hangar revealed the mostly composite airframe of the S-97 is almost fully assembled, with wiring and some avionics systems. But the aircraft still misses a transmission and driver train, including a General Electric CT7 engine, coaxial rotor and pusher propeller.
Sikorsky plans to power-on the S-97 electrical system by the end of May, once all the wiring is completed.
The S-97 is designed to be twice the weight of the high-speed Sikorsky X2 prototype that was retired in 2012 after achieving speeds over 250kt in level flight.
Sikorsky launched the S-97 – with an estimated $200 million price tag, including supplier contributions – to open a new market for military and perhaps later civilian high-speed helicopters.
The S-97 is aimed initially at replacing the Boeing MH-6M Little Bird fleet operated by the US Special Operations Command. The US Army also has a requirement for an armed aerial scout, although it plans to divest the Bell Helicopter OH-58 Kiowa Warrior fleet.
http://www.flightglobal.com
_________________ Le Prophéte (saw) a dit: Les Hommes Les meilleurs sont ceux qui sont les plus utiles aux autres
jf16 General de Division
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Mer 28 Mai 2014 - 17:24
Citation :
Nicetrip : l'hélicoptère convertible passe en soufflerie
L'Onera vient de terminer les essais en soufflerie de la maquette "Nicetrip" (pour "Novel Innovative Competitive Effective Tilt Rotor Integrated Project"). Développé par l'Onera et le NLR (le centre de recherche aérospatiale néerlandais), le modèle à l'échelle 1/5 est basé sur le concept Erica (En-hanced Rotorcraft Innovative Concept Achievement), un convertible dessiné par AgustaWestland.
La particularité des "convertibles" ("tilt-rotor" en anglais) est que leurs rotors peuvent basculer, ce qui leur permet de décoller et atterrir verticalement, puis de voler comme un avion. Dans le cas de la maquette Nicetrip, les nacelles moteur ainsi qu'une section d'aile peuvent basculer indépendamment du corps de l'avion.
Les essais réalisés dans la grande soufflerie S1MA de Modane ont fait suite aux tests réalisés par le NLR et ont permis d'évaluer le comportement à haute vitesse et dans les phases de transition des demi-ailes basculantes.
Les conclusions de ce projet européen devraient servir de base aux futurs programmes de démonstrateurs de Clean Sky 2. Pour rappel, Airbus Helicopters et AgustaWestland se sont engagés à faire voler des démonstrateurs d'hélicoptères futuristes. Airbus HC devrait ainsi s’intéresser à un descendant du X3 alors que AgustaWestland planche sur un appareil plus gros que son AW609.
Pour mémoire, le programme européen Clean Sky 2 a été lancé le 7 mai dernier par le Conseil de l'Union Européenne. Le budget alloué au programme s'élève à 4 milliards d'euros et devrait permettre de développer des technologies pour l'aviation civile de demain.
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Mar 17 Juin 2014 - 13:18
Citation :
S-97 RAIDER™ Helicopter Powered On for First Time As Next-Gen Rotorcraft Moves Closer to First Flight
June 16, 2014 West Palm Beach, Florida - Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. today announced it has turned on electrical power for the first time to the S-97 RAIDER™ prototype helicopter, signaling successful installation of the avionics system and a major step toward completing the assembly of the new – and first – light tactical rotorcraft featuring X2 Technology™. Sikorsky is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).
The key milestone on the first of two aircraft planned to be built in the RAIDER program took place May 28, 2014, at Sikorsky’s Development Flight Center where the aircraft is being assembled. The successful powering on means that the cockpit multifunction displays and control display unit (CDU) are operational, as are the CDU controlled electronic circuit breakers. The aircraft will undergo electrical power and avionics Acceptance Test Procedures (ATPs) for the next several weeks, to complete the checkout of the remaining avionics, electrical, and flight control systems.
“This is a big milestone for a development program; the aircraft comes to life when power goes on,” said S-97 RAIDER Program Manager Mark Hammond. He also noted that several RAIDER suppliers played a critical role in achieving the “power on” milestone, including the Sikorsky Avionics Product Center, Esterline-Korry, Esterline-Mason, United Technologies Aerospace Systems (UTAS), Lockheed Martin, Garmin, Avionics Instruments, BAE, Honeywell, Pacific Scientific, Northrup Grumman, Meggitt, and LMS.
The aircraft is about halfway through the assembly process, with several key components in production and scheduled to be installed in the next few months.
“This is next-generation rotorcraft taking shape, with an aggressive schedule for getting air under the tires of the first RAIDER helicopter before the end of the year,” said Mark Miller, vice president of Research & Engineering. “We are making great progress, and in the meantime are keeping our interested customers keenly aware of the exceptional performance that this aircraft will bring. We are really looking forward to showing its value to the U.S. military.”
The RAIDER is targeted to fly by the end of 2014. Sikorsky plans to demonstrate the aircraft’s capabilities to the U.S. military beginning in 2015.
The S-97 RAIDER helicopter is a revolutionary rotorcraft that will deliver X2 Technology in a new light tactical rotorcraft designed to outmatch conventional military helicopters in speed, maneuverability, and high altitude operations. The fly-by-wire controlled helicopter will feature counter-rotating rigid main rotor blades for lift and forward flight, and a pusher propeller for high speed acceleration and deceleration.
Sikorsky proved the efficiency of the rigid rotor co-axial design in 2010 when its 6,000-lb. gross weight X2 demonstrator helicopter achieved 250-knot flight speed, or twice the speed of conventional helicopters. It also demonstrated low pilot workload and low acoustic signature.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., based in Stratford, Connecticut, is a world leader in helicopter design, manufacture, and service. United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Connecticut, provides a broad range of high technology products and support services to the aerospace and building systems industries.
This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning opportunities for development, production and sale of helicopters. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in government procurement priorities and practices, budget plans, availability of funding and in the type and number of aircraft required; challenges in the design, development, production and support of advanced technologies; as well as other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed from time to time in United Technologies Corporation’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
http://www.sikorsky.com
_________________ Le Prophéte (saw) a dit: Les Hommes Les meilleurs sont ceux qui sont les plus utiles aux autres
jf16 General de Division
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Mer 25 Juin 2014 - 14:55
Citation :
Le Phantom Swift de Boeing pourrait voler d'ici 2017
Le 25/06/2014 à 10h30, par François Julian, à Saint Louis
Il pourrait préfigurer le futur de l'hélicoptère, voir même de l'aéronef de transport : le Phantom Swift de Boeing, un engin expérimental à mi-chemin entre l'avion et l'hélicoptère. On connaissait déjà le concept de l'hélicoptère convertible à rotors basculants, ou tiltrotor en anglais, formule qui a donné naissance au V-22 américain.
A la faveur d'un programme de démonstration technologique de la Darpa, baptisé VTOL X-Plane, Boeing va aujourd'hui plus loin avec le Phantom Swift, un concept d'aéronef hybride dont la particularité est d'être doté de quatre soufflantes : deux orientées verticalement et positionnées en tandem dans le fuselage, pour assurer l'essentiel de l'effort de sustentation, et deux en bout de voilures, carénées et orientables, qui servent essentiellement à la transition entre les phases de vol vertical et horizontal et à la propulsion durant cette dernière phase.
Selon Boeing, la combinaison de ces quatre soufflantes permettrait au Phantom Swift d'être 50 à 60 % plus performant qu'un hélicoptère en vol stationnaire, tout en lui permettant d'atteindre des vitesses de l'ordre de 550 à 740 km/h. Un tel engin permettrait également d'augmenter de 40 % la charge utile. Pour le moment, ce dernier n'existe que sous la forme d'un engin radio-commandé, à l'échelle 1/8, qui a volé l'an dernier dans les installations du constructeur à Mesa (Arizona).
Mais Boeing espère bien faire voler un démonstrateur technologique plus gros, long de 14 m pour une envergure de 15 m, d'ici "quatre ou cinq ans". Ce dernier devrait être doté d'une motorisation assez classique (deux turbines CT7-8 fournies par General Electric). Pour autant, Boeing estime que sur un hypothétique engin de série, l'idéal serait d'aboutir à une motorisation hybride (kérosène/électrique), voire complètement électrique.
Lancé l'an dernier par la Darpa, le programme VTOL X-Plane a pour objectif d'étudier de nouvelles configurations d'aéronef, capable de décoller verticalement et de voler en stationnaire comme un hélicoptère, tout en ayant les mêmes performances qu'un avion en termes de vitesse, d'allonge et de charge utile. Le budget total du programme est de 130 M$, dont 47 M$ pour la phase 1 (phase de conception préliminaire. La Phase 2 sera consacrée à la conception détaillée, et la phase 3 aux essais en vol. Sikorsky, Aurora Flight Sciences et Karem Aircraft participent également au programme VTOL X-Plane.
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Dim 6 Juil 2014 - 21:31
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Ven 3 Oct 2014 - 16:19
Citation :
Behold the newest, fastest, most badass attack helicopter in the world
The S-97 Raider—Sikorsky new attack helicopter—is out and it is not only gorgeous. It's absolutely badass. It is based in the same technology as their X2 technology demonstrator, which broke the world helicopter speed record in 2010: 260 knots—that's 299.2mph (481.5km/h) vs the 172mph of conventional helicopters.
According to Sikorsky's Mike Miller, it "is an all-new helicopter, all-new configuration. We haven't seen something this new in 30 years." The Raider uses counter-rotating rotor blades with a push propeller on the tail. This unique combination allows it to pulverize all speed records.
Obviously, its weight is limited. This thing will not have the same kind of firepower as heavier helicopters, but it will be able to zip to any location and provide troop support faster than any other chopper.
The aircraft will not be operative in the US military just yet. In fact, only two Raiders are built. They will be tested during 2015.
http://sploid.gizmodo.com
_________________ Le Prophéte (saw) a dit: Les Hommes Les meilleurs sont ceux qui sont les plus utiles aux autres
jf16 General de Division
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Ven 3 Oct 2014 - 16:39
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Ven 28 Nov 2014 - 17:06
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Mar 9 Déc 2014 - 12:17
Citation :
Sikorsky's S-97 Raider will not be airborne until 2015
Sikorsky has chosen prudence over spectacle and delayed the first flight of its S-97 Raider prototype until 2015.
The company, which has invested more than $150 million of internal funding to develop the coaxial rigid-rotor vertical-lift platform, originally planned for it to fly before then end of 2014, but has yet to begin ground testing in preparation for the aircraft’s maiden flight.
Doug Shidler, who headed the Raider project before taking the helm of the company’s joint multi-role development effort, tells Flightglobal there is no particular issues holding the programme back.
“We are going through several lab ground tests right now and we are planning to get into aircraft ground run here in the next couple of weeks,” he says. “As with any development program and first-of-type, there are discoveries. We haven’t had too much discovery, nothing that is insurmountable. We’re making some really good progress in getting the aircraft set for doing its ground runs.”
Raider uses coaxial rotors for vertical lift and a tail propeller for forward thrust. The combination allows for flight characteristics that are physically impossible for existing rotorcraft designs. There is no programme of record within the US military for the aircraft, though the US Army has been monitoring the development effort as it looks to eventually replace its existing, and aging, helicopter fleet.
A transmission system testbed is being built in parallel with the Raider, of which there will be two flying prototypes. The first is designed specifically for the flight test phase. The second will be a demonstration aircraft that will travel and be flown for prospective customers.
The fuselage for Raider II is complete and the remaining parts have been manufactured and delivered. Construction of the second aircraft will begin in early 2015, he says.
Ground runs are scheduled to begin this month, he says. Data gathered while the aircraft remains tethered to the ground will be used to inform flight testing, which should begin in early 2015.
“We were targeting flying by the end of the year,” he says. “It is not any one particular thing or any issue. It’s the nature of development and pulling the first of type together. We’re not rushing it, we are making sure we do it in a very judicious fashion to make sure we are getting into the air safely.”
Army officials desire helicopters that can fly higher, faster and farther than current designs. The Raider is being billed as a potential armed aerial scout or for use by special operations forces.
It was designed to carry more than 4,990kg (11,000lb), or six troops plus crew. With external weapons mounted, Sikorsky says it will fly at least 220kt (407km/h). Unarmed it will fly at up to perhaps 270kt, but S-97 chief engineer Andy Bernhard will not specify how fast they intend to fly it during testing.
Raider was announced, designed and built in four years based on the company's experiences with the X2 concept demonstrator. Raider brings that aircraft's technology into a practical aircraft that can demonstrate real-world mission capabilities.
In partnership with Boeing, Sikorsky plans to scale up Raider’s compound, rigid coaxial rotor configuration into a platform that will satisfy the army’s requirement for the joint multirole technology demonstration (JMR-TD). That programme will validate technologies for the eventual future vertical lift (FVL) platform, which is seeking three classes of helicopter – medium, then light and heavy – to eventually replace all the service’s vertical lift aircraft. Sikorsky and Boeing have dubbed their JMR demonstrator the SB-1 Defiant.
Sikorsky has built fly-by-wire aircraft before and gained experience with coaxial rotors with the X2. Still, as a clean-sheet design with novel propulsion and lift configurations, the Raider has presented unique challenges, says Steve Engebretson, Sikorsky’s director of military programme marketing.
“The amount of data we have on this configuration is relatively limited,” he says. “To quote one of our test pilots, we’re going to learn something from the aircraft from the first time he picks it up off the ground. Every time we spin this rotor, we are probably going to learn something new about how it operates.”
When Raider does get airborne, the company plans to dive directly into substantive testing, Shidler says. First flight is planned to last about 1h, he says.
“We don’t want to just pick the wheels off the ground and get the glamour shot and put them back down again,” he says. “We’re all about making sure we have productive flight testing.”
http://www.flightglobal.com
_________________ Le Prophéte (saw) a dit: Les Hommes Les meilleurs sont ceux qui sont les plus utiles aux autres
jf16 General de Division
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Jeu 5 Fév 2015 - 15:50
Le S-97 Raider de Sikorsky a fait un pas de plus vers son premier vol, initialement prévu à la fin de 2014. Le constructeur a annoncé, le 4 février, le début des essais au sol du premier prototype à West Palm Beach (Floride). C’est la première fois que l’appareil est testé dans une configuration entièrement équipée.
Il s’agit de vérifier le bon fonctionnement du système de propulsion, de la transmission, du système de contrôle des rotors et de l’interface pilote-machine. Ces essais font suite à une première phase de qualification de logiciel, ainsi que des essais de fatigue et des tests de la boîte de transmission principale.
Sikorsky annonce également le début imminent de l’assemblage final du deuxième prototype du S-97, suite à la livraison de la cellule par Aurora Flight Sciences au mois de janvier dernier. La sortie d’usine du premier prototype a eu lieu le 2 octobre dernier.
Motorisé par un YT706 de General Electric (2 600 ch), le Raider a une longueur hors tout de 11 m et doit transporter 6-7 passagers à environ 400 km/h. Il reprend la formule « hybride » qui a fait le succès du concept mis au point avec le démonstrateur X2, à savoir un rotor principal contrarotatif — qui permet de s’afranchir du rotor de queue anti-couple — associé à une hélice propulsive montée à l’arrière de l’appareil.
Première application concrète de cette technologie, le Raider devrait marquer un véritable saut en termes de vitesse, d’agilité et de performances à haute altitude par rapport à la génération actuelle d’hélicoptères.
Avec la formule X2, Sikorsky vise la succession du Bell OH-58 Kiowa Warrior, ainsi que le futur programme JMR-TD (Joint Multi-Role-Technology Demonstrator) pour remplacer le Black Hawk. Pour ce dernier programme Sikorsky a fait équipe avec Boeing pour proposer le SB-1 Defiant.
Sikorsky vient d'annoncer qu'il débutait l'assemblage final de son hélicoptère à rotor coaxial contrarotatif rigide, le S-97 Raider, dont le programme a été lancé en octobre 2010. L'objectif était alors de murir le programme X2 et de développer un appareil répondant aux besoins de reconnaissance armée et d'opérations spéciales de l'US Army.
Si le premier Raider a été construit en qualité d'appareil uniquement dédié aux essais, le second S-97 servira de démonstrateur, afin d'offrir à la clientèle la capacité d'apprécier la technologie X2. Les essais en vol du second prototype du S-97 devraient débuter en 2015, suivis par des vols de démonstration qui commenceront dès 2016. L'appareil est capable d'atteindre une vitesse supérieure à 220 kts (407 km/h).
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Sam 7 Mar 2015 - 13:07
Citation :
Sikorsky S-97 RAIDER™ Team Begins Final Assembly of Second Aircraft
March 04,2015 WEST PALM BEACH, Florida - Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), today announced the start of final assembly of the second S-97 RAIDER™ helicopter at the company’s Development Flight Center.
Along with a team of industry suppliers, Sikorsky is developing two RAIDER™ prototypes to demonstrate the revolutionary new capabilities in improved maneuverability and flight speed. The RAIDER is a rigid coaxial rotor prototype aircraft ideally suited for armed reconnaissance and a spectrum of special operations missions.
“Our teammates on the RAIDER program have been answering our challenge to deliver a military helicopter with capabilities never seen before,” said Mark Hammond, S-97 RAIDER Program Manager. “As a team, we’ve already demonstrated the power of working together to develop a high-performance and affordable next-generation aircraft. Starting assembly of the second prototype is a great milestone for the program.”
Sikorsky launched the S-97 RAIDER program in October 2010 with the objective of maturing the X2™ rotorcraft design and offering a helicopter to meet U.S. Army armed reconnaissance and special operations needs. The company developed the first RAIDER prototype as a test aircraft, built to prove the military application of Sikorsky’s X2 Technology™. The second prototype will serve as a demonstrator aircraft, offering key customers an opportunity to experience the capabilities of X2 Technology first hand. Sikorsky is on track to complete final assembly and test flights of the second RAIDER prototype in 2015, followed by demonstration flights beginning in 2016.
The RAIDER program is 100 percent industry funded. The second RAIDER prototype entered final assembly with the delivery of the all-composite fuselage from RAIDER supplier, Aurora Flight Sciences of Manassas, Virginia.
“Aurora’s expertise in composite airframes and rapid prototyping was a natural fit for the S-97 RAIDER program, and was a natural fit to our core competency. We value the cohesion of the team in the design, manufacturing and test elements of the program,” said Mark Cherry, President and Chief Operating Officer, Aurora Flight Sciences. “We are thrilled to be part of the team that’s reinventing the helicopter and putting it in the hands of the warfighters.”
Sikorsky’s Collier-Award winning X2 Technology demonstrator showed the world its exciting technologies and set the stage for launching the S-97 RAIDER program. As part of the portfolio of Sikorsky Innovations, Sikorsky Aircraft’s technology development organization, the RAIDER features a multi-mission configuration, capable of performing air assault or armed reconnaissance/light attack missions. The coaxial counter-rotating main rotors and pusher propeller provide cruise speeds beyond 220 knots (253 mph).
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., based in Stratford, Connecticut, is a world leader in helicopter design, manufacture and service. United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Connecticut, provides high technology products and services to the building and aerospace industries.
This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning opportunities for development, production and sale of helicopters. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in government procurement priorities and practices, budget plans, availability of funding and in the type and number of aircraft required; challenges in the design, development, production and support of advanced technologies; as well as other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed from time to time in United Technologies Corporation’s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Lun 9 Mar 2015 - 13:43
Citation :
Sikorsky S-97 RAIDER Begins Bladed Ground Runs
Ajoutée le 9 mars 2015
February 4, 2015 marks the start of bladed ground testing, a major milestone, for the S-97 RAIDER program. During the ground runs phase, the S-97 RAIDER team is testing the first of two aircraft prototypes as a completed system for the first time. The team will perform initial ground tests with the aircraft tied down and will focus on verifying correct operation of the propulsion system, drive train, rotor control system and pilot-vehicle interface.
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Ven 22 Mai 2015 - 20:42
Citation :
VIDEO: Boeing confident in SB-1 design for Pentagon's FVL
By: James DrewPhiladelphia Source: Flightglobal.com
Boeing is banking on its partnership with Sikorsky on the SB-1 Defiant demonstrator to help usher in the next generation of rotorcraft for Army but still anticipates that its long-serving AH-64 Apaches and CH-47 Chinooks will continue to dominate the skies out to 2060.
The SB-1 Boeing and Sikorsky are developing for the Army’s Joint Multi-Role (JMR) technology demonstration programme is expected to fly in the third quarter of 2017 at West Palm Beach in Florida.
The propeller-pushed, lift-offset coaxial aircraft is being developed alongside the Bell Helicopter-Lockheed Martin V-280 Valor, a tilt-rotor design, to inform way ahead in the medium-weight class of the Army’s Future Vertical Lift programme. If successfully validated in testing, a Defiant or Valor type of rotorcraft would start replacing US Apache and Black Hawk helicopters in the 2030s.
The company released a new video this week showing how the Defiant is expected to operate.
Speaking at press tour at Boeing’s rotorcraft manufacturing facility in Philadelphia, the company’s director of future vertical lift at Phantom Works, Pat Donnelly, says the Army wants a speedy, multi-purpose aircraft that flies faster and farther than a traditional helicopter and carries more payload, but must “operate like a helicopter and cost like a helicopter.”
“We are helping the government decide what they want for future vertical lift-medium,” Donnelly says. “They’ve put together a requirements list that’s exhaustive. What we’re doing in our SB-1 Defiant is helping them understand what the implications of any one of those design features does to the aircraft.”
The SB-1 is designed with stiff, counter-rotating blades mounted close together to reduce drag. The blades will slow as the aircraft is propelled to speeds of more than 250kt, roughly 90kt faster than a UH-60 Black Hawk. Donnelly says the propeller reverses pit to slow the aircraft and even act as a parachute.
“There are advantages to the tilt-rotors, there’s advantages to the coaxial,” he says. “A tilt-rotor is a more mature platform, but we are relying heavily on what Sikorsky has done in this environment. They flew the X-2 to 250kt about four or five years ago, and they’re going to fly their Raider.”
Boeing and Lockheed are 50-50 joint partners on the SB-1 programme, which will benefit from Lockheed’s separate development of the S-97 Raider, also a rigid coaxial rotorcraft prototype. The Raider conducted its first flight this week and is built to cruise at 240kt.
“We’re pursuing our vehicle in our [coaxial] configuration because we believe it buys helicopter capability as well as speed,” Donnelly says. “The focus of our aircraft is its agility at low speeds like a conventional helicopter. We believe for the requirements as specified a couple of years ago, this configuration is the best.”
At an earlier press briefing, Boeing said its CH-47 Chinooks and AH-64 Apaches will remain in production through 2020 at least, depending on future sales. The Army expect to keep flying both aircraft types through 2060, by which time its Future Vertical Lift programme is expected to deliver a replacement in both mission areas.
There are approximately 850 Chinooks currently in operation globally, and Boeing has delivered more than 2,100 Apaches since their introduction in 1984. The company says the US government will need approximately 4,000 future vertical lift platforms in the future to replace its legacy helicopter fleets.
“We fly in 2017, and [we’re] probably flying for about 1 year,” Donnelly says, noting that the Army will consider the SB-1 and V-280 designs in an analysis of alternatives before publishing its final medium-class Future Vertical Lift requirements document. Developing a heavy-lift platform to replace the Chinook is a longer-term priority for the Army.
In addition to its Joint Multi-Role programme, Boeing hopes to develop a next-generation vertical lift platform based off its Phantom Swift, a ducted fan tilt-rotor aircraft.
Donnelly says Phantom Swift is designed to be much more efficient in hover than even the SB-1, and reach cruise speeds of 300kt to 400kt.
Boeing expects to complete its preliminary design later this year before the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency selects one of four competing aircraft designs to carry forward. Donnelly says the aircraft will be autonomous but that is not the main focus of the competition.
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Ven 22 Mai 2015 - 20:52
Citation :
S-97 Raider makes debut test flight
By: Stephen TrimbleWashington DC Source: Flightglobal.com
Sikorsky has completed a first flight of the self-funded S-97 Raider at the company's flight test facility in West Palm Beach, Florida, to open a year-long test and demonstration phase for the high-speed, compound helicopter proposed for light attack, scout and special utility missions.
The S-97’s coaxial-compound, rigid-rotor configuration will eventually be tested at speeds up to 220kt – or about 50kt faster than the speed limit of most conventional helicopters – but the maiden flight on 22 May focused on exploring the low-speed envelope in a degraded mode of the fly-by-wire system.
Sikorsky chief pilot Bill Fell and co-pilot Kevin Bredenbeck completed three take-offs and landings during the hour-long sortie and evaluated the aircraft’s handling in all four cardinal directions at speeds up to 10kt.
“It was quite the aggressive first flight for a helicopter,” says Bredenbeck, who piloted the X2, the S-97’s proof-of-concept demonstrator.
Sikorsky
Sikorsky launched the S-97 project in 2010 after completing a series of record-breaking demonstration flights of the X2.
A 48-month technology demonstration programme was extended by more than four months to complete several new technologies. The S-97 is configured as a testbed for a variety of development projects within Sikorsky, including components made through additive manufacturing, a low-fastener-count approach to structural assembly, and new composite materials.
“The S-97 is a testbed for a lot new technology and some of those took a little bit longer,” says Sikorsky vice-president of research and engineering Mark Miller.
The S-97 flies faster than most helicopters because it replaces a tail-rotor with a pusher propeller, which was left deactivated for the first flight test. The counter-torque function of the tail rotor is replaced with a counter-rotating, coaxial rotor system that provides vertical thrust for takeoff and landing.
The rigid blades of the coaxial rotor system provide another benefit over a conventional Sikorsky helicopter.
“You have a phenomenal amount of control power with this very rigid rotor,” Fell says. “There is no lag. The aircraft responds immediately to your control input.”
The 5t-class S-97 is part of a wave of industry investment in high-speed technology.
The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey now flies faster than 260kt and land vertically using a tiltrotor configuration. Bell Helicopter is currently developing the V-280 Valor tiltrotor demonstrator with Lockheed Martin.
The V-280 is competing against a Sikorsky-Boeing compound helicopter design based on same X2 technology as the S-97 with the 13.5t-class SB-1 Defiant.
The V-280 and SB-1 will perform a series of flight tests to validate the high-speed technology under the army’s joint multi-role technology demonstrator (JMR-TD) programme.
Both aircraft designs are expected to compete for a follow-on acquisition programme called Future Vertical Lift, which initially aims to replace the army’s Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and Boeing AH-64 Apache fleets with a single, high-speed rotorcraft.
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Sam 23 Mai 2015 - 16:06
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Ven 3 Juil 2015 - 22:51
Citation :
Bell sees V-280 Valor as common attack-utility platform
By: James Drew Washington DC
Bell Helicopter and Lockheed Martin’s third-generator tiltrotor aircraft demonstrator, the V-280 Valor, might still be under construction for the US Army, but already the future vertical lift (FVL) contestant is morphing into a mid-weight, utility-attack platform.
Those attending a land warfare exposition by the Association of the United States Army in October are likely to see a V-280 mock-up on display as a utility platform one day and an attack variant the next. And, perhaps on the third day it will transform again into a medical evacuation platform.
Despite army desires to build two separate, specialised vertical-lift platforms to start replacing the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and Boeing AH-64 Apache in the 2030s, Bell thinks both missions could be performed by one identical or near-identical rotorcraft based on the Valor design.
Bell Helicopter
Chris Gehler, Bell’s director of global business development for advanced tiltrotor systems, told Flightglobal in a recent interview that the V-280 has the potential to be both a troop carrier and gunship when outfitted with different payloads, and the company is already in discussions with the US Marine Corps about the design.
“We already know the Marine Corps would like to have one aircraft replace utility and attack,” Gehler explains. “We’ve been working with them on developing an attack variant of the V-280 that could be – whether it’s wholly attack or one that can be interchangeable back between utility and attack – if not the same airframe, very identical.”
The concept of having one platform seems like a good idea on paper, and could potentially save billions of dollars by buying common parts, engines, drives and rotor systems. But the army appears unconvinced and says it wants distinct platforms for each mission.
“The medium category is going to be two aircraft with two capability sets,” Maj Gen Michael Lundy, who heads the Aviation Centre of Excellence, told BreakingDefense earlier this year. “We’re not going to build a sub-optimised aircraft."
Still, Bell thinks an AV-280 concept might gain traction, and it plans show off its utility and attack configurations on different days at AUSA. The company already builds attack and utility derivatives of the UH-1 Huey for the USMC (the AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom, pictured below), and recently demonstrated forward-firing rockets and missiles on the Bell Boeing V-22 tiltrotor.
Bell Helicopter
Gehler says tiltrotors “can be very capable attack platforms” in cruise and in hover, and the V-280’s new rotor design allows it to have side doors for troops to quickly mount and dismount. Bell and Lockheed are already looking to put common launch tubes on the V-280 that can launch rockets, missiles and even small unmanned air vehicles forward or aft with no rotor interference.
“When it’s in forward flight and cruise mode with the rotors forward, it’s still able to do forward-firing weapons,” he says. “We’ve got weapons bays that can open up and fire [Lockheed AGM-114] Hellfires from the main fuselage.”
The Bell-Lockheed Valor and Boeing-Sikorsky SB-1 Defiant – a next-generation propeller-pushed, coaxial rotor design (below) – were downselected last year for the army’s joint multi-role technology demonstrator programme, which runs through 2019. This will help to inform its FVL requirements, and the two examples are due to fly by the third quarter of 2017.
Boeing
FVL, although not currently a programme of record, is a joint programme lead by the army that is meant to usher in the next-generation of rotorcraft for the services by the mid-2030s. The Pentagon plans to make a formal FVL materiel development decision in October 2016.
Even though FVL has been a topic of considerable discussion and debate for some time now, there is currently no funding, no contracts, nor requests for proposals. The general assumption is that a future aircraft must fly further, faster and in higher and hotter conditions than today’s helicopters.
There are potentially five aircraft categories: light, medium-light, medium, heavy and ultra. The greatest demand is in the medium category, which the two JMR teams are focused on. Bell doesn’t anticipate much change between the “surrogate requirements” for its full-scale demonstrator and the final FLV list.
Spirit AeroSystems a annoncé avoir assemblé le premier fuselage du convertible lié au programme JMR-TD (Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator). Le fuselage a été conçu et construit dans l'usine de prototypage rapide de Wichita, dans le Kansas, aux Etats-Unis, en l'espace de 22 mois. Elément en composite, il est actuellement préparé pour être envoyé à l'usine Bell d'Amarillo pour l'assemblage final.
Le programme JMR-TD, mené par l'US Army, précède celui du département de la défense (DOD), baptisé Future Vertical Lift, dont l'objet est de remplacer 2 000 des 4 000 hélicoptères de milieu de gamme utilitaires et d'attaque. Le Bell V-280 devrait effectuer son premier vol au cours du second trimestre de l'année 2017.
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Mar 13 Oct 2015 - 22:41
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Ven 22 Jan 2016 - 19:02
Citation :
22/01/2016
Le Bell V-280 « Valor » volera en 2017 !
Bell Helicopter est sur la bonne voie pour mener le premier vol de son aéronef à rotors basculants V-280 « Valor » l'année prochaine.
Le premier prototype de démonstration, dont l’assemblage a débuté au sein de l’usine de production d’Amarillo au Texas, avance normalement selon l’avionneur. Le processus pour commencer l'accouplement de tous les composants et systèmes de l’aéronef est désormais en bonne voie avant son vol inaugural prévu en 2017.
Le Bell V-280 «Valor» dont le design a été présenté pour la première fois le 10 avril 2013, lors de l'Army Aviation Association of America Annual Professional Forum and Exposition à Forth Worth au Texas. Le V-280 est un aéronef multi-rôle susceptible de répondre au programme «Vertical Lift Program» du département de la Défense. L'armée américaine et le ministère de la Défense sont en effet, à la recherche d’un hélicoptère capable à l’avenir de voler à une vitesse de 230 nœuds, en lieu et place des 140 actuels.
Le concept du V-280 «Valor» est basé sur la gamme des «tilt-rotor» de troisième génération, fortement inspiré du V-22, mais légèrement plus petit. Une des grosses différences avec le V-22 est que les moteurs du V-280 seront fixes et ne pivotent pas avec le rotor, ce qui réduit la complexité et le nombre de pièces mobiles.
Le Bell V-280 «Valor» à rotors basculants doit offrir selon son concepteur, les plus hauts niveaux de maturité et de préparation technique. Le Bell V-280 aura la capacité d'effectuer une multitude de missions avec une vitesse inégalée avec une grande agilité.
Photos : La maquette grandeur nature du V-280 « Valor » @ Bell Helicopter
Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Lun 28 Mar 2016 - 14:12
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Sujet: Re: Helicopters of the future / Hélicoptères militaires du futur Dim 24 Avr 2016 - 19:41
Citation :
24/04/2016
Assemblage final du V-280 « Valor » !
Bell Helicopters procède à l’assemblage final du premier prototype du démonstrateur V-280 « Valor » au sein des installations de ses situées à Amarillo au Texas.
La société Spirit AeroSystems a livré le fuselage du V-280 à Amarillo à partir de son usine de Wichita au Kansas, l'an dernier. Les deux nacelles destinées à la motorisation, construites par Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) ont été accouplées sur l'aile, qui ensuite a été installée sur le fuselage de l’aéronef.
Le Bell V-280 «Valor» a été présenté pour la première fois le 10 avril 2013, lors de l'Army Aviation Association of America Annual Professional Forum and Exposition à Forth Worth au Texas. Le V-280 est un aéronef multi-rôle susceptible de répondre au programme «Vertical Lift Program» du département de la Défense. L'armée américaine et le ministère de la Défense sont en effet, à la recherche d’un hélicoptère capable à l’avenir de voler à une vitesse de 230 nœuds, en lieu et place des 140 actuels.
Le concept du V-280 «Valor» est basé sur la gamme des «tilt-rotor» de troisième génération, fortement inspiré du V-22, mais légèrement plus petit. Une des grosses différences avec le V-22 est que les moteurs du V-280 seront fixes et ne pivotent pas avec le rotor, ce qui réduit la complexité et le nombre de pièces mobiles.
Le Bell V-280 «Valor» à rotors basculants doit offrir selon son concepteur, les plus hauts niveaux de maturité et de préparation technique. Le Bell V-280 aura la capacité d'effectuer une multitude de missions avec une vitesse inégalée avec une grande agilité.
Le premier vol prévu pour 2017 et l'entrée en service opérationnel de l'appareil, s'il est sélectionné, interviendra dans le courant de 2020.
Spécifications de l’appareil :
Vitesse de pointe de 280 nœuds
Autonomie maximum : 2100 nm
Autonomie en mission : 500-800 nm
Contrôles de vol fly-by-wire à triple redondance
Trains rétractables
Deux portes latérales de 1,80 m de largeur
Photos : 1 Assemblage du premier fuselage du V-280 2 Maquette du V-280 @ Bell Helicopter
Jeu 13 Déc 2012 - 12:39
Le Prophéte (saw) a dit: Les Hommes Les meilleurs sont ceux qui sont les plus utiles aux autres
