Massive Pay-Day Delay For Boeing/Lockheed Prototype In Army's Future Vertical Lift Program
The Army over the coming decades hopes to replace its massive fleet of UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters A Lockheed/Boeing Futuristic Helicopter Prototype Is Delayed Again
A joint Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Lockheed Martin(NYSE: LMT) prototype looking to set the standard for future military helicopters has suffered another setback, pushing its first flight into 2019.
In February 2013, Boeing announced it was teaming with Sikorsky, then a subsidiary of United Technologies but now owned by Lockheed, to design and build a variant of the Sikorsky X2 rotorcraft for the U.S. Army's Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR TD) program.
The companies initially had planned for the design, called the Defiant, to fly in 2017, but complications manufacturing the system's blades led to setbacks. Those issues have been resolved, and the companies had been pushing to do a first flight before year's end. But they said last week that recent tests had revealed issues that would lead to further delays.
View photos
Artist rendering of the Defiant in flight.
A rendering of the Sikorsky/Boeing Defiant. Image source: Lockheed Martin.
"We are going to slip our first flight into early 2019," Rich Koucheravy, director of business development for future vertical lift at Sikorsky, said during a Dec. 12 call with reporters. "While it's not necessarily what a lot of folks would have liked -- it's not necessarily what we would have liked -- we continue to build confidence in our configuration."
A $100 billion long-term opportunity
The Boeing/Lockheed team has one of two designs, along with Textron's (NYSE: TXT) Bell V-280 Valor, competing for the Army's Future Vertical Lift program, an ambitious bid to rethink the design and function of a helicopter to make it faster, more stable, and able to haul large loads even in thin atmosphere or other extreme conditions.
The Textron Bell design, which is a tilt-rotor like its popular V-22 Osprey, achieved first flight in December 2017. The Defiant has more of a traditional helicopter look but with counter-rotating coaxial main rotor blades and a "pusher propeller" at the rear to increase airspeed and maneuverability.
View photos
Artist rendering of the Textron Bell V-280 Valor
A rendering of Textron's Bell V-280 Valor.
Image source: Textron.
While these initial designs will not immediately lead to a massive payday for the companies, the long-term stakes are high. The Army over the coming decades hopes to replace its massive fleet of UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters using next-generation aircraft, and a successful demonstration now could position either of these designs for future contracts.
Overall, the Army could need as many as 4,000 medium-class helicopters at a projected price tag of $100 billion. The demonstrator effort will heavily influence the requirements for future Army rotorcraft procurements, and the winner of this competition will have a strong endorsement of its technology.
