Sikorsky: S-97 Raider Is Safe At Any Speed

Lockheed Martin

Sikorsky: S-97 Raider Is Safe At Any Speed « Breaking Defense - Defense industry news, analysis and commentary: 

The company is confident that there is no inherent flaw in the design. Instead, they say, there was a software error that would have hamstrung any aircraft -- and that error won't happen again.

JUPITER, FL: Sikorsky has solved the software glitch in their S-97 Raider that caused a 2017 accident, company officials told visiting reporters here, and the problem that totaled one of their two prototypes cannot reoccur. Their surviving test aircraft has flown at sustained speeds of 238 mph (207 knots), they added, which means it already meets the Army’s speed requirement for its new scout, the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft.

The S-97 can reach such speeds in large part because of its dual rotors, one rotating on top of the other on the same axis (coaxial) — but the 2017 accident occurred when those two rotors flexed too far and collided. So if Sikorsky couldn’t fix the problem, their whole dual-rotor design would have been in doubt. But the company is confident that there is no inherent flaw in the design: Instead, they say, there was a software error that would have hamstrung any aircraft, whatever its rotor arrangement — and that error won’t happen again...........read rest of article


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S-97 Raider: Details