As to how the Defense Blog and Scramble Magzine acquired leaked details of the Kamov Design Bureau’s future high-speed helicopter for the Russian Armed Forces is beyond us.
Some reports indicate the schematics of the new high-speed helicopter were “accidentally leaked” onto Russian social media.
The Kamov design features a ‘delta’ fixed-wing, co-axial rotor system, a side-by-side cockpit, and pusher engines in the rear of the aircraft similar to the Sikorsky S-97 Raider and Bell V-280 Valor, said Defense Blog.
Sergei Mikheyev, General Designer of the Kamov Design Bureau, recently presented the concept drawings to an unknown group. Mikheyev expects the new technologies will produce higher speeds and better fuel efficiency that could make Washington very worried.
He also said the new helicopter could reach speeds of more than 435 mph, nearly three times the speed of a conventional helicopter.
The helicopter will be equipped with numerous stealth technologies, including infrared heat suppressing systems and various fuselage contour designs with internal weapon bays to avoid detection from Western MIM-104 Patriot missiles.
While it does not appear Russia has a working concept of the high-speed helicopter, U.S. defense companies seem to be ahead of the curve.
The U.S. Army launched a design competition for its Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft by submitting a request to the defense industry on Oct. 03 — asking defense companies to submit flyable prototypes in the next few years.
The Army is looking for two different helicopter prototypes that it can add to its fleet by 2023.
The effort is part of a more significant move to procure a family of Future Vertical Lift aircraft, in the next 10-years. The service would like to retire its UH-60 Black Hawks and AH-64 Apache helicopters.
Sikorsky’s S-97 Raider could be the front-runner in the Army’s new high-speed helicopter.
In a recent test, the Raider clocked speeds well over 200 knots at its West Palm Beach, Florida, flight test center this summer.
Bell, which has been testing its V-280 Valor til-trotor helicopter for more than a year, continues to hold plans on submitting the aircraft to the Army.
It seems that Russia and the US are rushing to deploy the next-generation of helicopters, which all appear to have new designs that enable high-speed capabilities with stealth technologies. More evidence that Cold War 2.0 is quietly progressing forward.
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