SB>1 Defiant completes first flight
The Sikorsky-Boeing SB>1 Defiant aircraft carried out its first flight on 21 March at Sikorsky's facility in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The helicopter is being developed to help inform the next generation of military helicopters as part of the US Army’s Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstration programme. It is designed to fly at twice the speed and range of today’s conventional helicopters and offers advanced manoeuvrability, using Sikorsky’s X2 coaxial design.
Data from Defiant will help the army develop requirements for new utility helicopters expected to enter service in the early 2030s. This flight marks a key milestone for the Sikorsky-Boeing team, and is the culmination of significant design, simulation and test activity to further demonstrate the capability of the X2 technology.
X2 Technology is scalable to a variety of military missions such as attack and assault, long-range transportation, infiltration and resupply.
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