Defiant shows off slalom skills in new test flight footage


In a demonstration appropriately coinciding with the Winter Olympic games, the Sikorsky-Boeing SB>1 Defiant showed off its slalom skills in a series of tests that also expanded the helicopter’s external load lift capacity and other operational firsts.

During the tests, the dual-engine Defiant helicopter also demonstrated single-engine operations which highlighted the added survivability of the aircraft should an engine sustain combat damage.

“These test flights are part of our continuing demonstration of how Defiant supports the Army’s missions of massing combat power on the objective area,” said Jay Macklin, business development director of Sikorsky Army, Future Vertical Lift and Innovations. 

The recent tests were performed at Sikorsky’s development flight center in West Palm Beach. During the flight, the aircraft flew slalom maneuvers at three different speeds between 60 knots and 100 knots. In a new video releases Feb. 17, the compound, coaxial helicopter can be seen weaving between pre-marked “gates” down the Sikorsky runway in West Palm Beach, Florida on Jan. 31.

Defiant achieved aeronautical design standard (ADS)-33 level one tolerances during the final run on the 500-foot-gate course as required by the ADS slalom course, according to Sikorsky chief test pilot Bill Fell.

“Many rotorcraft struggle with this maneuver, but Defiant performed flawlessly,” Fell said in a statement. “It was the easiest I have completed this task, having flown it in roughly 10 different rotorcraft. This will provide warfighters an advantage when maneuvering to avoid and evade enemy forces.” 

Defiant also continued its external load lift testing and traveled out of the test yard with an external load. Previous testing included lifting 5,300 pounds (2,400 kilograms). Using a cargo hook, the aircraft took a 3,400-pound (1,540 kg) load away from the airfield and then returned it a short time later, reaching speeds nearing 100 knots and 20 degrees angle of bank.

“This capability will allow Army units to move equipment or build forward operating bases with Defiant like they do today,” Fell said. “These sorties will, however, be faster as the return trip for the next load will happen at X2 speed — twice the speed of a Black Hawk.”

To demonstrate survivability, the pilots placed one engine in idle at 100 knots and completed an approach to a hover, hover, and landing at a mission representative weight, Fell said. The maneuver demonstrated Defiant’s ability to fly with a single engine, which is a scenario Army aviators likely will face when and if an engine sustains combat damage/

The SB>1 Defiant is an operational prototype for Defiant X, the Sikorsky-Boeing team’s pitch for the U.S. Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA). It faces Bell’s V-280 Valor advanced tiltrotor in the competition, which should be decided in July when the Army chooses one FLRAA contender to begin producing aircraft that will eventually replace the UH-60 Black Hawk.

“Defiant X’s reach and unsurpassed demonstrated payload capability, enables not only long-range air assault operations, but also ship-to-shore sustainment at extended distances well outside the reach of threat capabilities,” Macklin said, referring specifically to operations in the Asia-Pacific region, where the U.S. military is expected to counter Chinese regional expansion. “Defiant Xis a highly maneuverable aircraft that not only gets you to the fight, but allows you to bring the fight with you, fitting into landing zones that currently accommodate the UH-60 Black Hawk.”

  
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