Originally Posted by
Tango and Cash
It's concept art, dreamed up by the marketing department at happy hour. "Wouldn't it be cool to have a tiltorotor that folds the proprotors back and becomes a jet?"
Folding tiltrotor rotor technology was demonstrated in wind tunnels at sub-scale and full-scale (25’ diameter) in the 1970’s. The clutchable lift fan on the F-35B is another way to turn a turbo shaft engine into a turbofan. There are challenges to be sure, but it’s more than marketing BS. Look at the patent traffic over the past 5 years… solutions are being found for the issues identified years ago.