Sikorsky‘s [LMT] S-97 Raider, after flight testing commenced last week, participated in the U.S. Army’s industry day June 25 on its draft solicitation for a new attack reconnaissance aircraft.
The Army June 22 said in a draft solicitation the “Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft Competitive Prototype (FARA CP) seeks to design, build, and test technically mature aircraft in an operationally relevant environment.”
“We believe that the X2 aircraft family offers the military a scalable solution that will meet the evolving demands of a multi-domain battle space,” Tim Malia, Sikorsky’s director of Future Vertical Lift, said. “We are showing how X2 aligns with the Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) requirements, filling a critical gap in the Army.”
A final version of the Army’s solicitation is anticipated in September with proposals due in December. Bell [TXT] is also likely to bid on the program with its V-280.
Sikorsky test pilots Bill Fell and John Groth flew the complete flight test card of the Raider, flying the aircraft for 90 minutes at Sikorsky’s facility in West Palm Beach, Fla., last week.