This Could Be the Army's Next-Gen Helicopter

New video, complete with Apocalypse Now imagery, shows off Sikorsky Boeing's design.

YouTubeLockheed Martin

Sikorsky Boeing has released a new CGI video showing off its planned entry in the Army's Future Vertical Lift program. Dubbed the Sb>1 Defiant, the concept helicopter could replace the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter and the UH-60 Blackhawk transport helicopter with a common design that is faster, has a longer range, is more maneuverable, and is quieter than previous helicopters.

The Joint Multi-Role helicopter program is a multi-service effort to replace many of the helicopters the armed services use with a new generation of helicopter—or helicopter-like aircraft. The UH-60 Blackhawk, for example, is used by the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, while the CH-47 Chinook and the AH-64 Apache are used by the Army. All of the designs, while highly effective, date back to the 1960s and 1970s. The JMR program has several subprograms, with the Future Vertical Lift-Medium set to replace the UH-60 and AH-64 and the FVL-Heavy set to replace the CH-47.

Sikorsky Boeing's entrant for the FVL-Medium, the Defiant, got a boost this week with a new video that fleshes out some key details. The Defiant will have a top speed of 250+ knots air speed, which translates to 287 miles an hour. That's more than a hundred miles an hour faster than the UH-60M Blackhawk transport, which tops out at 183 miles an hour.

Defiant also has an unspecified longer range and the ability to perform at higher altitudes where the air is thinner. It also has improved low-speed maneuverability, which will be particularly useful in urban environments.

SB>1 Defiant medium transport variant. Wikipedia photo.

The transport variant of the Defiant, like the Blackhawk, carries 11 combat troops. It also carries eight casualty evacuation stretchers instead of six in the UH-60M. The video doesn't really go into details on the armed version designed to replace the AH-64 Apache, but it now sports a nose-mounted gun, something it didn't have in previous depictions, as well as winglet-mounted rockets and missiles.

Strangely, buried towards the end of the video, the announcer touts the Defiant's "dramatically reduced acoustic signature." In other words, it's much quieter than other helicopters. You would think this would be a very important selling point, but it's practically buried in a rapid-fire list of other points.

Bell Helicopter CGI depiction of V-280 Valor.

The Sb>1 Defiant's main competitor for the FVL-Medium program is the Bell V-280 Valor, a tiltrotor design that looks like a cross between the UH-60 Blackhawk and V-22 Osprey. The Army will select one of the two designs after test flights in the 2018-2019 time frame.

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