In March, the American corporation Boeing showed its solution for FARA - the concept of a reconnaissance and attack helicopter of the future. Recall that a number of companies must submit their solutions for the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft competition, designed to replace the already decommissioned light multipurpose Bell OH-58 Kiowa, which served as a reconnaissance and fire support helicopter in the US Army. A promising helicopter should complement the AH-64, and not replace it completely, as some believe. In general, so far the US Army is happy with the Apache.
Boeing approached the issue seriously: interest was fueled by the February announcement, where the outlines of the rotorcraft could be seen for the first time. And for the presentation itself, a video was prepared demonstrating the main aspects of the aviation complex.
Alas, all this is unlikely to help the company: there are several good reasons for this. First of all, it should be said that the Boeing FARA (the symbol that we will be using) was the last aircraft presented as part of the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft. We discussed the previously shown projects in one of the previous articles, but it would be appropriate to outline the situation in brief.
To date, in addition to the Boeing helicopter, the following combat vehicles are presented:
- Raider-X (Sikorsky);
- Bell 360 Invictus (Bell Helicopter);
- project from AVX Aircraft and L3 Technologies;
- AR40 (Karem).
As of March 2020, Sikorsky has advanced the farthest: the demonstrator of Raider-X technologies, the Sikorsky S-97 Raider helicopter, first took to the skies back in 2015. And at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) 2019 exhibition, the company presented the concept directly to the Raider-X itself. As for Bell, the company does not have a prototype or a technology demonstrator, but it has a high-quality full-size mock-up, as well as spectacular animations, in one of which Invictus destroys T-14 tanks and T-15 infantry fighting vehicles based on the Armata tracked platform. Given the growing competition for the arms market, this is a spectacular move, albeit predictably met with negative in Russia.
AVX Aircraft and L3 Technologies in the framework of AUSA showed a model of their brainchild, and Karem limited itself to not very high-quality images of the helicopter, as well as a model (also not very beautiful, in truth). Against its background, Boeing looks like a favorite, but against the background of Raider-X and Invictus it does not look. Let's take a look at the technical details.
"Strange" evolution
Boeing provided a generic message to the presentation. “We listened to the army, evaluated all the alternatives and optimized our design to provide an aircraft that meets the requirements,” said company spokesman Shane Openshaw. "We offer a highly reliable, stable and flexible aircraft with an emphasis on the safety and combat of the future."
As far as can be judged, we are talking about a machine with a six-bladed main rotor, four-bladed tail rotor and four-bladed pusher rotor. It is noteworthy that Boeing recently proposed such a scheme for the modernization of the Apache: then the usual AH-64 was proposed to be equipped with a third propeller - a pusher. In theory, such a scheme should increase the speed and range of the AH-64 by about 50 percent, and economy by 24 percent. At the same time, the price of the helicopter should increase by only 20 percent. However, we repeat, all this is according to the theoretical calculations of the company.
It seems that the promising helicopter has become a derivative of this initiative. By itself, it looks somewhat strange - like a jumble of different ideas, which together can make the car too expensive and complicated. It is pertinent to recall that the ancestor of both promising helicopters is the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne, which made its first flight in 1967. Despite the fact that the AH-56 could develop near the ground an almost incredible speed for a helicopter of more than 400 kilometers per hour, the program was closed in 1972, considering it too complicated. Preferring, which is remarkable, the more traditional "Apache".
It is possible, of course, that now Boeing has taken into account the punctures of aircraft manufacturers of the past years. It is known that a promising helicopter for the FARA competition will receive one turboshaft engine and will be able to reach speeds of more than 300 kilometers per hour. A cannon can be seen in the nose of the helicopter, and four air-to-surface missiles on the internal suspensions. Perhaps the arsenal will not be limited to this, and the helicopter will be able to optionally carry missiles on external holders. The same Bell 360 Invictus, for example, will be able to carry up to eight guided air-to-surface missiles on external suspensions, and four more missiles in internal compartments. On the other hand, the Bell concept originally had two wings on which to place the holders. Boeing has nothing of the kind: at least not yet.
Invictus and the Boeing helicopter share a distant visual similarity with the unobtrusive Boeing / Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche, the project of which was previously closed. However, it must be assumed that neither one nor the other will be a full-fledged stealth, limiting themselves to a "moderate" decrease in radar signature. It is pertinent to recall that one of the probable threats on the battlefield, the Tunguska missile and gun complex, has an optical guidance channel, which largely neutralizes the low radar signature of the rotorcraft. Stealth technology will not save even the simplest anti-aircraft artillery from fire if the helicopter is flying low.
It is pertinent to note that stealth is very expensive. So, for example, about three billion dollars were spent on the development of the aforementioned Comanche, having built only two prototypes. It was assumed that the US Army will supply 1,292 RAH-66 helicopters with a total value of about $ 35 billion. Taking into account the modern avionics (the Comanche program was closed in 2004), the price of helicopters would probably have increased even more.
Black stripe for Boeing
Among the advantages, one can name a side-by-side crew arrangement convenient in terms of piloting during combat missions, as well as Boeing's extensive experience in the construction of combat helicopters. However, this is where the serious advantages end, as noted above. Sikorsky, with its Raider-X, which has one coaxial rotor and one push rotor, has gone much further than Boeing. At the same time, Bell Helicopter, in the case of Invictus, offers a more conservative and potentially less risky option.
This is all not counting the constant failures of Boeing with the Boeing 737 MAX passenger airliner, serious difficulties in bringing the KC-46 tanker to working order and ambitious plans to create a sixth generation fighter, having won a defeat from Lockheed Martin in an old competition to create a fifth generation fighter … In general, the above does not bring the moment of the first flight of Boeing FARA closer. Just like his victory in the competition.
