Originally Posted by
helispotter
SplineDrive, consider this:
Sikorsky Raider X - FARA contender thread:
started: Oct 2019, 148 posts total
Military Aviation FARA thread:
started: Apr 2019, 34 posts total
Hill HX50 thread:
started: Dec 2019, 1492 posts total
So Hill discussions started a little later, but 10x more posts than the Rotorheads FARA thread. Explain that and you will likely explain lack of recent FARA posts too.
Experience from war in Ukraine will likely shape many more western defence acquisition decisions, not only for rotorcraft. Uncrewed systems more than likely to expand significantly. Investment in systems to defend against uncrewed systems likely to also increase significantly. Didn't Russians lose yet another significant warship in last few days due to an apparent USV strike??
I am interested to hear your views about this major cancellation.
Not particularly happy with the the Pentagon's decision so curiously how much resistance did both the OEMs and army aviation branch put up? Also i do not think this is the end of the manned attack helicopter, laying aside the last 3 decades advance in unmanned systems especially VTUAS, remember when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan and how many of their MI24 and Mi17 were shot down by the Mujahadeen over the decade of occupation. Were the thoughts going through the Pentagon minds of hmmm the manned armed attack or scout helo is sliding towards extinction??
I know in the last year that, the Japanese MoD and JGSDF have been mulling over replacing their AH-64J and OH-! with unmanned rotorcraft as a result of seeing whats happening in UKraine.
Also the Bindeswehr in the biggest rotorcraft purchase of 80 plus H145M rather than go ahead with Tigre Mk3 upgrade with their French and Spanish cohorts and replacing theiir Tiger fleet altogether (which am led to believe had reliability issues). Think they will have MUM-T capability
Just wondering, whats the single biggest threat to manned armed helo -
- if its MANPADS, are not our rw crews in the west trained to counter that
- air to air threat, - same as the above but with the exceptions of the Sidewinder fitted to USMC AH-1Z and the provision to add AIM-32 stingers to AH-64D/E (i know its not standard but can be available as Hellfire itself can act as limited air to air cap)..
- ground fire - as in from infantry, artillery or tank....at very low level, whose being practising low level tactics for over five decades....
cheers