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20/04Airbus develops new A400M Mothership variant to launch 12 Taurus missiles or 50 drones for long-range strikes
19/04US Navy seizes Iranian container ship Touska using 127 mm naval gunfire in Gulf interdiction operation
19/04North Korea tests 5 Hwasong-11 ballistic missiles with cluster warhead capability
18/04Australia selected the upgraded Mogami-class frigate for 11-unit order, after a competitive tender against Germany’s Meko A-200
18/04American Airlines rejects idea of merger with United
17/04Three US aircraft carrier groups and 10 destroyers blockade Strait of Hormuz
15/04US Army names new MV-75 tiltrotor ‘Cheyenne II’
13/04UK MoD orders Skyhammer counter-drone missiles against Iranian Shahed threat
13/04France edges closer to Eurodrone exit with its defence programming revision
11/04Full success of the Artemis II NASA's first crewed lunar flyby in 50 years
11/04Falcon 9 launches NG-24 Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the ISS for resupply mission
09/04Belgium orders 5 Cessna SkyCourier twin turboprops to serve with the country’s special forces
10/03US Army deploys Ukrainian Merops anti-drone system against Iranian Shahed drones in Middle-East
09/03NATO intercepts Iranian ballistic missile in the Turkish airspace for second time
09/03First Starship V3 launch slips to April
20/04Airbus develops new A400M Mothership variant to launch 12 Taurus missiles or 50 drones for long-range strikes
19/04US Navy seizes Iranian container ship Touska using 127 mm naval gunfire in Gulf interdiction operation
19/04North Korea tests 5 Hwasong-11 ballistic missiles with cluster warhead capability
18/04Australia selected the upgraded Mogami-class frigate for 11-unit order, after a competitive tender against Germany’s Meko A-200
18/04American Airlines rejects idea of merger with United
17/04Three US aircraft carrier groups and 10 destroyers blockade Strait of Hormuz
15/04US Army names new MV-75 tiltrotor ‘Cheyenne II’
13/04UK MoD orders Skyhammer counter-drone missiles against Iranian Shahed threat
13/04France edges closer to Eurodrone exit with its defence programming revision
11/04Full success of the Artemis II NASA's first crewed lunar flyby in 50 years
11/04Falcon 9 launches NG-24 Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the ISS for resupply mission
09/04Belgium orders 5 Cessna SkyCourier twin turboprops to serve with the country’s special forces
10/03US Army deploys Ukrainian Merops anti-drone system against Iranian Shahed drones in Middle-East
09/03NATO intercepts Iranian ballistic missile in the Turkish airspace for second time
09/03First Starship V3 launch slips to April
20/04Airbus develops new A400M Mothership variant to launch 12 Taurus missiles or 50 drones for long-range strikes
19/04US Navy seizes Iranian container ship Touska using 127 mm naval gunfire in Gulf interdiction operation
19/04North Korea tests 5 Hwasong-11 ballistic missiles with cluster warhead capability
18/04Australia selected the upgraded Mogami-class frigate for 11-unit order, after a competitive tender against Germany’s Meko A-200
18/04American Airlines rejects idea of merger with United
17/04Three US aircraft carrier groups and 10 destroyers blockade Strait of Hormuz
15/04US Army names new MV-75 tiltrotor ‘Cheyenne II’
13/04UK MoD orders Skyhammer counter-drone missiles against Iranian Shahed threat
13/04France edges closer to Eurodrone exit with its defence programming revision
11/04Full success of the Artemis II NASA's first crewed lunar flyby in 50 years
11/04Falcon 9 launches NG-24 Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the ISS for resupply mission
09/04Belgium orders 5 Cessna SkyCourier twin turboprops to serve with the country’s special forces
10/03US Army deploys Ukrainian Merops anti-drone system against Iranian Shahed drones in Middle-East
09/03NATO intercepts Iranian ballistic missile in the Turkish airspace for second time
09/03First Starship V3 launch slips to April
20/04Airbus develops new A400M Mothership variant to launch 12 Taurus missiles or 50 drones for long-range strikes
19/04US Navy seizes Iranian container ship Touska using 127 mm naval gunfire in Gulf interdiction operation
19/04North Korea tests 5 Hwasong-11 ballistic missiles with cluster warhead capability
18/04Australia selected the upgraded Mogami-class frigate for 11-unit order, after a competitive tender against Germany’s Meko A-200
18/04American Airlines rejects idea of merger with United
17/04Three US aircraft carrier groups and 10 destroyers blockade Strait of Hormuz
15/04US Army names new MV-75 tiltrotor ‘Cheyenne II’
13/04UK MoD orders Skyhammer counter-drone missiles against Iranian Shahed threat
13/04France edges closer to Eurodrone exit with its defence programming revision
11/04Full success of the Artemis II NASA's first crewed lunar flyby in 50 years
11/04Falcon 9 launches NG-24 Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the ISS for resupply mission
09/04Belgium orders 5 Cessna SkyCourier twin turboprops to serve with the country’s special forces
10/03US Army deploys Ukrainian Merops anti-drone system against Iranian Shahed drones in Middle-East
09/03NATO intercepts Iranian ballistic missile in the Turkish airspace for second time
09/03First Starship V3 launch slips to April

Your are here : Home News / S-97 Raider, future of the US Army Aviation

S-97 Raider, future of the US Army Aviation

The American helicopter manufacturer Sikorsky has just unveiled the first prototype of its S-97 Raider army reconnaissance helicopter. A first flight is now expected before the end of the year. The device sharply contrasts with existing helicopters demonstrating an innovative propulsion system: the coaxial rotors are backed by a pusher propeller allowing pushing the giant suppository to a faster cruising speed than 400 km / h. Without sacrificing any of the inherent workability specific to this helicopter, the S-97 promises a speed equal to the one of a light aircraft.

The prototype displays a very profiled fuselage, a cockpit for two pilots placed side by side and a minimal cargo compartment, enabling six soldiers to board the aircraft, ammunitions or additional fuel. If we had to sum up, we could see in the S-97 a hybrid between the Russian Mi-24 and its small cargo compartment, and the AH-56 “Cheyenne” abandoned in 1972 because of its exorbitant cost, but had already the idea of a pusher propeller to go faster.

The S-97 is based on research conducted with the X-2 demonstrator, which reached a speed of 460 km / h in level flight in 23 flight tests. But will the success of the X-2, which owed a lot to the lightness of the machine (only 2.5 tones) and its over-motorisation, be reproducible with a machine of more than 5 tons? Another key question, will the extremely compact coaxial rotors, with blades close together, allow holding factors of high loads with no risks that the two rotors touch each other?

Last but not least, will the US Army Aviation let itself be tempted by this helicopter? The AAS program (Armed Aerial Scout) that aims at replacing the OH-58D and to which the S-97 is designed to meet, was put in the refrigerator last year by the US army.