This advanced compound helicopter by Boeing is actively being proposed against a U.S. Army armed reconnaissance helicopter requirement - better known as FARA.
The United States Army has enacted the FARA ("Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft") requirement to find a successor to its Boeing AH-64E "Apache" currently being utilized in the armed reconnaissance role. The role once fell to the lightweight Bell OH-58 "Kiowa Warrior" which was retired in 2014. The Boeing RAH-66 "Comanche" stealth helicopter, joined by the Bell ARH-70 "Arapaho", were both developed for the role but both saw cancellation at various points in their timelines.
Boeing's entry reveals shades of the RAH-66 stealth helicopter cancelled in 2004: its design is sleek with streamlining to the extreme complete with a low-mounted main rotor blade unit, internal side-fuselage weapons bays, and well-contoured engine intakes. The crew of two is seated in a typical tandem fashion with the pilot in the rear cockpit and the weapons officer in the front. At the "chin" position is a triple-barreled Gatling-style automatic cannon installed in a trainable mounting allowing the helicopter to attack light-armored ground targets at various angles. For stouter ground targets, the internal weapons bays each house 2 x AGM-114 "Hellfire" Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs) for lethal killing firepower at range.
As with other FARA entries, the Boeing proposal is of "compound" arrangement utilizing a standard main rotor along with a tail rotor unit facing port side. To this added a "propulsor" unit in "pusher" configuration adding the required performance to this fast-reconnaissance aircraft. To preserve aerodynamic efficiency, the "tail-dragger" wheeled undercarriage is wholly retractable in the design and the missile armament, being held completely internally until needed, offers no drag for straight line dashing actions.
The main rotor blade consists of a six-bladed assembly seated low over the fuselage while the tail rotor is given four blades and the propulsor unit follows suit with four blades of its own. All are driven by a single-engine arrangement buried within the fuselage of the helicopter. The end result is a helicopter with the performance of a fixed-wing aircraft all the while retaining its Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) capabilities.
Internally, the aircraft is to be controlled through an all-modern, digital Fly-By-Wire (FBW) system offering the agility and maneuvering required of operating in contested airspaces at low altitudes. Controls are being made redundant allowing either cockpit position to guide the aircraft as needed. The cockpit offers exceptional vision due to its light framing which, when coupled with the advanced onboard systems, enhances crew and machine survivability. Furthermore, the cockpit is configurable for mission need and future growth through an open architecture approach. Pilots are granted access to a wholly-modern touch screen environment for ease-of-use.
The competitive fly-off phase of the FARA program is set to be had in 2023 with operational capability reached sometime in 2028. Competition is being had from AVX, Bell, Karem / Northrop / Raytheon, and Sikorsky.
The Boeing entry involves defense players AvioniX and Aurora Flight Sciences and is being headed by Boeing Phantom Works.
Specifications
Year: 2028
Status In-Development
Crew 2
[ 0 Units ] : Boeing Phantom Works / Boeing Company / AvioniX / Aurora Flight Sciences - USA
(Showcased structural dimension values pertain to the Boeing FARA production model)
1 x General Electric Aviation XT901 turboshaft engine developing 3,000 horsepower each driving a six-bladed main rotor unit, four-bladed tail rotor unit (facing port side), and four-bladed propulsor unit in "pusher" configuration.
(Showcased powerplant information pertains to the Boeing FARA production model)
Max Speed:
202 mph (325 kph; 175 kts)
Service Ceiling:
14,764 feet (4,500 m; 2.8 miles)
Max Range:
1,383 miles (2,225 km; 1,201 nm)
Rate-of-Climb:
1,000 ft/min (305 m/min)
(Showcased performance values pertain to the Boeing FARA production model; Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database)
STANDARD:
1 x 20mm Gatling-style three-barreled cannon in powered chin turret.
OPTIONAL:
4 x AGM-114 "Hellfire" Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs) stored internally in side-fuselage bays (two missiles per bay.
(Showcased armament details pertain to the Boeing FARA production model)
FARA - Base Project Name.
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