There may not be an aircraft more iconic than the US Army's AH-64 Apache. A deadly hunter-killer, the Apache can stalk prey day or night, in any weather, and lock on to the heat signature of a target from miles away.
It can hover below roof level, and using its networked attack capabilities, pop up to fire
off missiles that are led to their target by another helicopter, a drone, a plane, or even troops on the ground.
It can take quite a beating too, resisting even.50 calibre rounds. Yet the Apache is dated, and while it has served faithfully for nearly fifty years, its age is showing. The future is going to require new tools and weapons to secure victory, and the United States Army is now shopping around for a replacement attack helicopter under its Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft program- or FARA for short.
Many of the specifications requested by the army for this new helicopter of the future remain classified, but what is known is that this new chopper is going to have to be fast- faster than even the current fleet of Apaches. While current Apaches can hit speeds of up to 188 mph (302 km), the Army's new helicopter must be capable of hitting speeds of up to 230 mph (370 kph), which is hitting the absolute limits of rotor aircraft design.
The new chopper must also be built with open architecture, a term being used on just about every new US military purchase, from new Ford carriers to the F-35, and the Virginia class of submarines.
Wisely recognizing the rapidly increasing pace of technological development, open architecture
The design allows a weapons program to be built and fielded with the capability to 'plug and play' future upgrades.
This was a big problem for the US military leading up to the 1990s, as the technology was moving so quickly that by the time new weapon systems were designed and completed final testing, they were stuck with near-obsolete components.
Designing a new fighter aircraft for instance could take up to a decade, with another five to ten years of flight testing before reaching initial operational capability.
The F-35 program for instance began in the late 90s and only now is achieving operational capability. Designers simply can't replace old technology in the middle of the design or testing phase, as it would require going back to the drawing board and testing the effects of new components on the entire design.
Thus, new open architecture designs allow weapon systems to be designed, tested, and manufactured in such a way that new technology can be easily adopted, and old tech removed.
This is vitally important to the US Army in its FARA program because attack helicopters are the workhorses of army ground attack, and while it's always great to have an air force or navy jet in the air you, attack helicopters typically see more action and provide a superior option in most cases for supporting ground troops.
The Army's new attack and recon helicopter must have the ability to quickly adapt and integrate new technology as it becomes available, with future upgrades being eyeballed including directed energy weapons such as high powered lasers.
This requires that the new chopper have a much larger power supply available to power these new weapons and computer systems, with potentially up to 50% the power generation of a current Apache. The speed requirement of the Army- 230 mph (370 kph)- is another major challenge for helicopter manufacturers, as this is at the maximum limits of current single-rotor helicopters.
To solve this problem some manufacturers such as Lockheed and Boeing have been testing a
rear propeller design that looks like something out of World War 2. The design features a large propeller situated directly at the rear end of the helicopter, which provides a great deal of forwarding thrust and helps propel the helicopter up to very high speeds.
If the propeller is damaged or destroyed though it will not affect the stability of the aircraft, and it will still be able to speedily zip away using its main overhead rotor. Lockheed currently has a leg up on rival manufacturers as it has been flying its Raider X prototype for a few years now.
The design certainly looks revolutionary, and not just because of the rear propeller-Raider X features a coaxial counter-rotating rotor system which has two rotors instead of the traditional one on top of the helicopter. This design has been in use by Russian manufacturers for a while, and features increased manoeuvrability, more stable flight, and reduces the noise generated by the helicopter.
Thanks to the counter-rotating rotors, there is no need for a tail rotor to push against the main rotor as in a traditional design and thus keep the chopper stable. This makes the Raider X a much safer aircraft to fly, especially in combat where a damaged tail rotor could lead to a crash.
The new attack helicopter is also expected to have some stealth features, although creating a true stealth helicopter is practically impossible thanks to the rotors.
By adopting radar-absorbent materials though, the new attack helicopter will be harder to spot on enemy radar, and thus more survivable. Radar cross-section will also be improved by the possibility of housing all of its weapons internally, much like the F-22 or F-35, although
this will limit the total payload capacity of the aircraft, a glaring issue with both the F22 and F35.
A carbon tube design can also help reduce radar cross-section. With this design, the outside skin of the aircraft is embedded with round carbon-fibre tubes, much like a honeycomb.
When struck by radar waves, the waves enter the tubes and bounce around inside of them dissipating much of their energy before exiting again.
This can significantly reduce an aircraft's radar signature and is a trick already in use in much American stealth aircraft. The new attack chopper is going to need to bring the noise in a big way, which means it'll need to be fitted with the same 30mm chain gun of its Apache predecessor. Along with traditional Hellfire missiles, the new chopper will also be equipped with
the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System. This has already been equipped on modern Apaches and turns unguided 70mm rockets into precision weapons led to their target by the helicopter's laser target designation system, or by networking with an allied platform.
The Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft, however, will also need to defend itself against its greatest predators- other attack helicopters and fighter jets. For this, it'll continue the tradition began by the Apache of equipping AIM sidewinder air-to-air missiles, along with AGM-122 anti-radiation missiles which can be fired at targets using active radar to seek out the helicopter and destroy it.
One major upgrade will be the use of high energy lasers on the battlefield, and tests using Apaches have already been successful with the choppers using lasers to destroy drones out to a range of 6.2 miles (10 km). The Apache's replacement will likely feature this as primary armament, given the threat posed to ground forces by swarms of suicide drones all equipped with high explosives. A flight of the Army's future choppers will be able to decimate fleets of drones by using lasers, which fire at the speed of light and can be quickly re-targeted. These lasers might even be used defensively against incoming anti-air missiles or other munitions.
Another major capability of the army's future helicopter will be the ability to network with, and control, drones. It's envisioned that future attack choppers will fly alongside a squadron of unmanned drones, which can be directed to their targets by the helicopter pilot and can act as kamikaze weapons against dangerous enemy positions, or even sacrifice themselves to incoming fire to save the controlling helicopter. Whether it's on the offence or the defence, the Army's future attack helicopter will need to work closely with drones and other unmanned weapon systems.
Despite some initial designs being on the drawing board, and even some prototypes already taking to the air, the Army isn't expecting a replacement to be ready until 2030, although as the US military shifts back to a focus on fighting potential adversaries such as Russia or China, instead of terrorists, the Army has fast-tracked the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft project, and hopes to have first deliveries made before the decade is out.
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