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Sikorsky’s X2 high-speed helicopter technology demonstrator made its first flight Wednesday in Horseheads, N.Y. The single-engine fly-by-wire aircraft features coaxial rotors and a pusher propeller with cruise speeds of up to 250 knots, some 100 knots faster than current production helicopters. The X2 is powered by a 1,452 shp, FADEC-equipped T800 turboshaft engine that was previously installed in one of the Comanche helicopter prototypes. It drives both the rotor and the pusher propeller through two gearboxes. Wednesday’s flight lasted 30 minutes, in which hover, forward flight, and a hover turn were demonstrated. (Image Credit: Aviation Week/Sikorsky)
The Pentagon is in danger of missing its deadline to award the Air Force refueling Tanker contract to The Boeing Co. or Northrop Grumman ahead of the next administration. The final request for bids was expected to be released as early as Tuesday, but the deadline has continued to slip further past 15 August, and could be delayed until September. The request should clarify whether Boeing will get its desire for more time to assemble a bid. In February, Boeing lost the deal to Northrop Grumman Corp. and its partner, Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. Boeing filed its protest in March and the competition was subsequently reopened. (Image Credit: NGC)
The U.S. Air Force is considering delaying the retirement date for its primary intelligence collector, the U-2 Dragon Lady, as developers continue to work out issues related to integrating a signals intelligence payload onto the Global Hawk (UAV). The current plan calls for the completion of U-2 retirement in the third quarter of fiscal 2012. But the Pentagon is considering delaying the retirement to fiscal 2014 or possibly later, depending on the maturity of the Global Hawk. Key advantages of the U-2 over the Global Hawk include higher altitude (above 70,000 feet) and more available onboard power to run a larger selection of intelligence-gathering sensors. (Image Credit: Aviation Week/USAF)
Combat that’s been envisioned for decades, unmanned systems destroying other unmanned systems, has become a reality following an MQ-9 Reaper’s destruction of a vehicle carrying a remotely controlled explosive device in Iraq. The Reaper, the faster and better-armed version of the MQ-1 Predator, dropped a 500-pound laser-guided GBU-12 on the vehicle a week ago. It was the first weapons engagement by Reaper since it started operations there 18 July. Reapers have been operating for a year in Afghanistan, where U.S. and coalition aircrews have gained experience dropping laser-guided bombs. (Image Credit: Aviation Week/USAF)
The Zephyr, an ultra-lightweight plane constructed from carbon fiber and powered via paper-thin solar panels, has broken the record for the longest unmanned flight, according to manufacturer QinetiQ. The high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flew for 83 hours and 37 minutes, more than doubling the official world record set by Northrop Grumman's 'Global Hawk' in 2001. The Zephyr weighs 30 kilograms, has an 18-meter wingspan and is launched by hand. The aircraft can be guided remotely after launch up to around 60,000ft and then flown on autopilot and via satellite communication. (Image Credit: QinetiQ)
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