Sikorsky test flies long-range assault helicopter

Photo | Lockheed Martin Sikorsky's prototype Defiant X Future Long Range Assault Aircraft flew a test mission in March 2022.

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By Liese Klein

With a sleek profile and ultra-powerful stacked top rotors, Sikorsky’s newest long-range assault helicopter took to the skies last month ahead of a major U.S. Army meeting, the Stratford-based manufacturer announced Monday.

A prototype Defiant X Future Long Range Assault Aircraft flew in stages from West Palm Beach, Fla., to Nashville for the Army Aviation Association of America’s annual summit in March, Sikorsky owner Lockheed Martin announced.

The flight was the longest ever by the experimental aircraft, designed to test technology for Sikorsky and Boeing’s joint bid for the Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FARA) program.

Sikorsky and Boeing have teamed up to develop the Defiant X, a helicopter with two top rotors that spin in opposite directions and a vertical tail thruster that combine to achieve speeds of up to 300 mph.

The prototype is being assembled in Florida; if Sikorsky wins the FARA contract from the Army, “a determination will be made about the location the aircraft and its parts will be manufactured,” a Lockheed Martin spokesperson said.

The outcome of the FARA bid could also impact the $75 million incentive package from Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration announced last week. State officials said they crafted the package to keep 7,000 jobs and the manufacturer’s headquarters in Connecticut through at least 2042.

Another FARA prototype, the vertical lift Sikorsky Raider X, is more than 85% complete and is progressing 50% faster through production and assembly compared to legacy programs, Lockheed Martin announced Monday.

Sikorsky President Paul Lemmo said, “Our transformational Raider X will deliver broad benefits to the Army including the lowest schedule risk and greatest technical maturity of the FARA competitors.”

Jay Macklin, Sikorsky business development director, said, “Raider X is the most agile, lethal and survivable aircraft, designed for vertical lift dominance against evolving threats of the future.”

Sikorsky is currently building CH-53K heavy-lift helicopters for the U.S. Marines at its facility in Stratford.

Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.