Originally Posted by
rrekn
Without being cynical about supporting the US military industrial base... now that Bell have won FLRAA, Sikorsky will be handed FARA.
Say hello to the new Apache... the
Chippewa?
Raider-X has to fly well and perform properly first. While the Army asked for a 14,000 lb aircraft for FARA, I deeply suspect both aircraft are thousands of pounds over this target with Raider-X being heavier than Invictus. Raider-X has a ~15% larger rotor diameter but I’d spitball 70% greater mass relative to Raider’s original design point. So it’s not a foregone conclusion that Raider scales well to the Raider-X size. Rotor loads, drag, vibes, clutch, whatever other issue you want to imagine could still end up being an issue and the simpler Invictus could come away as the more practical vehicle.