Originally Posted by
SplineDrive
The odds that Raider-X can keep up with Valor are zero... even if a production version had two T-901 engines. Literally zero. Zip. Nada. Oh hell no. Not going to happen.
Am I the only one getting a feeling of déjà vu?
Lockheed is proposing extremely complex and expensive helicopter with high speed capability.
Bell is offering a low-cost alternative that may not be as fast, but is much lower technical risk.
Will history repeat itself?
Does anyone believe that Sikorsky can truly produce a FARA using X-2 technology cheaper than Bell a conventional helicopter with wings?
If both competitors meet minimum performance requirements, how much will the US Army be willing to pay for the X-2 speed?
Keep in mind that Army specified the speed requirement for AAFSS, which begat Cheyenne. Sikorsky's proposal was also complex with its "Rotoprop" tail rotor.
However Vietnam was going on and AH-56 was taking too long, so Army set up a competition for an "interim" helicopter based on an existing design so that it could be deployed faster. Bell won that with the AH-1. Even so, in order to protect Cheyenne Army restricted and delayed integration of TOW with Cobra so as not to challenge the requirement and funding for Cheyenne.