Originally Posted by
SansAnhedral
Its starting to sound like there is a power deficit with a single engine for both camps, however much more of a detriment for Raider X. There was even an unsolicited comment from Sikorsky in an interview regarding the Raider X cruising at 230 kts with a second engine, so if that isn't insight as to what is going on, I'm not sure what is.
Two things here. First, the S-97 was promised to be a 220 knot aircraft, but late in the test program Sikorsky admitted they didn't think they would be able to reach that, so that has to be taken into account in analyzing any statement. Second, remember that a while back the Program Manager said that an aircraft that meets all of the Army specs can't be built. No doubt Army will have to compromise on something, bu tit's unlikely they'll do it on engines. Two T901s would be too much power and would require extensive redesign of the aircraft to try and take advantage of it (unless Sikorsky is saying they
really need more power).