Militants Fire RPG At C-130 Then An MQ-9 Reaper Crew Promptly Locates, Tracks, And Kills Them
The incident is a prime example of the armed overwatch missions that American unmanned aircraft have been flying for years now.
The incident is a prime example of the armed overwatch missions that American unmanned aircraft have been flying for years now.
Bell’s Invictus and Sikorsky’s Raider X are now competing head to head to become the Army’s next armed scout helicopter.
The Air Force says that its dramatically curtailed light attack aircraft program may now evolve to include a series of experiments to explore the possibility of using those same planes to perform armed overwatch missions. The issue here is that the service said that its last round of light attack-related testing included evaluating the use of these planes in this exact same role, something that has otherwise been a well-established requirement for this type of platform.
The Army wants a survivable and fast “knife fighter” helicopter to fight in contested areas. The Raider X certainly seems like it could be just that.
By sticking to a conventional helicopter configuration, Bell will position itself as the low-cost, low-risk, and even possibly stealthy, option.