The American company Boeing received funds for the construction of a promising vertical take-off and landing aircraft, which was designated the Phantom Swift. In the future, a unique aircraft will be able to make a revolution in military affairs, comparable to the one that a helicopter once made. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA is providing Boeing 9.4 million dollars for the construction of a prototype demonstrator Phantom Swift. Funds are provided in the form of a grant as part of the X-Plane program. In 2013, Boeing, using 3D printing and rapid prototyping technologies, already made a smaller copy of its aircraft (17% of the planned size), so the construction of a full-size aircraft should go quickly enough.
The grant, which was received by Boeing on August 26, 2014, is the second. IHS Jane’s reporters were informed about this by the representative of the company, Deborah Van Nierop. In 2013, four competing companies working on the creation of a promising aircraft received $ 130 million from the US Department of Defense. It is reported that most of the construction work for the Phantom Swift will be carried out at the company's plant in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania.
It should be noted that the program, designated X-Plane, was launched by DARPA last year. Within the framework of this program, it is planned to develop a new aircraft, which would be distinguished by an increased flight speed and the ability to hover in the air. According to the terms of reference issued to four American companies, the cruising speed of the aircraft created under the X-Plane program should be 556-741 km / h, and the efficiency in hover mode should increase from the traditional 60% to 75%. At the same time, the aerodynamic quality when flying at cruising speed should increase from 5-6 to at least 10 units. Also, the military made stringent demands on the carrying capacity of the vehicle. The new aircraft should easily lift up to 40% of its total take-off weight (4, 5-5, 5 tons).
Of the four applicant companies, only Boeing was able to submit a ready-made (albeit executed on a scale of 1: 6) model to the experts, which, moreover, had already been tested in flight. In total, four companies are working on the creation of a promising aircraft: Sikorsky, Aurora Flight Sciences, Karem and Boeing, each of them is ready to present its solution to the military … It is reported that the stage of preliminary analysis of all submitted designs will last until the end of 2015.
The Phantom Swift aircraft can take off and land vertically, as well as hover in the air like a conventional helicopter, while having a very high flight speed - 550-740 km / h. According to Brian Ritter, the head of the Boeing program for the creation of this aircraft, in order to meet the requirements of DARPA's terms of reference, the project decided to use propellers installed in annular fairings.
The Phantom Swift is powered by two large fan lift motors that are installed inside its fuselage. These engines are used to create lift during takeoff, landing, and hovering in the air. The horizontal thrust is generated by two rotary fan motors that are mounted at the ends of the wing. Thus, after taking off and accelerating in helicopter mode, the large fan motors in the fuselage are turned off and closed with special flaps. The closure of the engines installed in the fuselage is carried out to improve the aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft. After that, the device makes a flight due to the thrust of small engines and the lift of its wing.
It is reported that the full-size version of the promising Swift Phantom aircraft will have a length of 13.4 meters, a width of 15.2 meters and a weight of up to 5450 kg. In this case, the device must carry a payload with a mass of at least 40% of its total mass. A unique feature of the aircraft is the use of propellers that are located in the annular fairings - both at the ends of the swivel wing consoles and built into the fuselage. This solution improves controllability, provides the aircraft with a high flight speed and a more efficient hovering mode.
To some, the design of the PhantomSwift aircraft may not seem entirely rational, since for most of the flight the lifting engines are turned off and represent a "dead weight" that simply eats up the deficient volume inside the aircraft's fuselage, which means that it reduces the possible payload volume. At the same time, it is reported that the serial version of the device will receive light and compact all-electric drives, which do not require a bulky transmission, which can partially solve the problem with the "eaten" volume. However, such technologies are not yet available, so the first full-size prototype will receive conventional CT7-8 gas turbine engines manufactured by General Electric. Such engines are currently used in Sikorsky S-92 helicopters. In the long term, they will be replaced with all-electric units.
Boeing's Phantom Swift should be a faster and more reliable alternative to the existing V-22 Osprey helicopters and tiltrotor aircraft. A promising aircraft will be able to get to a given point about 3 times faster than a conventional helicopter. The vehicle will be able, in a manned or unmanned version, to deliver various cargo to the front line, provide fire support to the troops, conduct reconnaissance, and evacuate the wounded. In addition, PhantomSwift will be uniquely manoeuvrable. For example, hovering on large lifting motors installed in the fuselage, the device will be able to almost instantly perform a turn in place, change the inclination of the hull, its height, and quickly gain speed in any direction of flight. All these qualities are very important for assault aircraft, and they are especially useful when working in difficult conditions, for example, in urban areas.
Since the DARPA agency did not specify whether they needed an unmanned or manned aerial vehicle, all companies presented projects that imply the possibility of working in both options. At the same time, Ritter noted that Boeing considers it expedient to give preference to the manned PhantomSwift variant, on the basis of which the company expects to create a whole family of new aircraft. At the same time, the US Department of Defense has not yet decided on the most successful project, the military has yet to choose the winning company out of the four participating in this project. Flight tests of the sample of the winner's company should take place approximately in 2017 or 2018.
