Lockheed’s Sikorsky Aircraft unit and Boeing have selected Honeywell to supply the turboshaft engine that will power their DEFIANT X® helicopter proposal for the U.S. Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) competition. According to Sikorsky’s announcement, the Honeywell HTS7500 turboshaft engine will integrate with Army aviation legacy platforms, tactics, and infrastructure.
The DEFIANT X helicopter that Sikorsky Aircraft and Boeing Co. are co-developing as a replacement for the U.S. Army’s UH-60 (Black Hawk) helicopter series – a model that is the basis for different combat applications – reportedly will retain traditional helicopter agility and maneuverability and deliver more combat power on the objective than competing proposals.
The FLRAA is a project to identify a replacement for the UH-60 as well as to advance combat helicopter technology for a new assault aircraft. The co-developers claim DEFIANT X “will be the fastest, most maneuverable and survivable assault helicopter in history.”
The DEFIANT X completed its first flight in 2019 and last year was tested and evaluated in digital combat applications. The helicopter was formally submitted to the FLRAA competition in September 2021.
Another proposed FLRAA design has been developed by Bell Textron Inc.
The U.S. Army is expected to select a new combat helicopter design in mid-2022.
Honeywell Aerospace describes the HTS7500 as a new evolution of its T55 turbofan engine series that has been selected for previous combat helicopters, but with a rating of 7,500 SHP it is 42% more powerful than the latest T55 version and has the lowest total weight compared to other engines in its horsepower class.
“DEFIANT X is a transformational aircraft, and Honeywell is giving us a transformational engine to power it,” stated Paul Lemmo, president of Sikorsky.
