WASHINGTON - The U.S. Army has picked Bell's Invictus and Sikorsky's Raider X as the two prototype designs that will face off against each other under its Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft program, or FARA. The two helicopters represent the most mature of the proposals that the service received and also stand at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of relative complexity, reports Joseph Trevithickmarch for TheDrive.com. Continue reading original article.
The Intelligent Aerospace take:
March 26, 2020-"The selection of the Bell 360 Invictus to continue in the FARA program builds on our decades-long legacy as an innovator in reconnaissance rotorcraft supporting the maneuver force," Mitch Snyder, President and CEO of Bell, said in a statement. "Our team has applied innovative thinking with tested technology to give the Army a low-risk option to fulfill its requirements on an aggressive schedule."
"We are honored the Army selected our game changing X2 Technology for Phase 2 of the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) Competitive Prototype (CP) program," Andy Adams, Vice President of Future Vertical Lift at Sikorsky, now part of Lockheed Martin, said in a separate statement. "Through our mature S-97 RAIDER technology demonstrator, we continue to optimize our FARA solution, which will provide the Army with an integrated weapon system that combines speed, range, maneuverability, survivability and operational flexibility. This approach is driving down risk and will result in an aircraft solution that is capable of executing the Army’s joint all-domain operations."
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Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace
