Sikorsky S-97 RAIDER demonstrates agility at the X during Future Vertical Lift flight Demo

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., April 15, 2021 - Flying low, fast and expertly executing crisp, tight, quick maneuvers that only #Sikorsky's X2 Technology™ family of #helicopters brings, the Sikorsky S-97 RAIDER® helicopter flew two demonstrations before U.S. #Army officials and Soldiers at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama this week.
#Sikorsky #S97 #Raider Lockheed Martin #Army #FARA #FVL #S97RAIDER

[@something7239]

That flyby sounds like a jet, a helicopter, and a lawn mower in close formation.

[@anthonycapanas2932]

The coaxial rotor system is so well faired in for low drag. I think the rotor system alone would pull this machine for good high speed fwd flight. But the pusher propeller gives it more increased speed as to prevent to much fwd cyclic control placement to Increase high fwd airspeed, which can lead to retreating blade stall. Maybe in this coaxial rotor system if both rotors hit retreating blade stall, there maybe excessive vibrations encountered. Yes, that propeller is loud. In a hover, the blades are at flat pitch.

[@m4272000]

Awesome aircraft. So glad I had the chance to do some work on it.

[@Only_God_Is_Allah_SWT]

You were installing LP record player in it. And your buddy fake missiles. 😄

[@paulmeyers3832]

What a wild sound, totally new. Would hate to be a bad guy hearing that coming.

[@stephendoherty8291]

I'd also note that its "small" size would make it less apparent when looking to shoot it down.

[@koscocosco5309]

You mean villagers in some 3rd world country..

[@babirukamu]

I urge for the contrary. it gives you a good warning of what is coming your way... Time to duck and cover...

[@guitarazn90210]

It would be ideal if the "bad guys" heard nothing at all. With those propellers running it's loud as fuck.

[@pchae1]

@@koscocosco5309 A villager in a 3rd world country is all it takes to one of these down unfortunately.

[@Tony-om5kr]

Looks like the retractable landing gear operates similar to that of the Grumman F4F Wildcat. Neat.

[@CAPEjkg]

That pusher prop is really loud, wonder if there are gonna be any quieting measures on final product?

[@m4272000]

For sure they will. Some sort of noise cancelling technology that they already used on those specially equip Nighthawks they flew on the night Special Forces killed Bin Laden.

[@emmanmiclat7839]

So this is now the fastest chopper ever

[@BuceGar]

Wish I could find some actual footage of the Bell Invictus flying, it's going to be a fun competition.

[@Drummingwolverine]

There’s no footage because it hasn’t been completed yet. Press release from March 26, 2021 said it was about 30% complete.

[@Only_God_Is_Allah_SWT]

This chopper is fine RPG magnet. Love it.

[@BuceGar]

@@Only_God_Is_Allah_SWT All choppers are MANPAD magnets. What's your point?

[@evilrooster9960]

Waiting for engines, should be a demo coming soon within the next 6 months, and yeah good luck hitting that thing running full speed with an RPG7 lmaooo And even if you do, our TR3B Black Mantas will drill holes in your little terrorist foreheads from low orbit lmaoo But you and your buddies also look like perfect M250 magnets from 2000 yards, Emir Lmao

[@HanyuRapui]

The single smaller prop sound beats the bigger 2 when in dash,lol

[@haditjandradjaja8403]

In autorotation, does the tail underfin hit the ground first ??

[@Idklmao1502]

I kept seeing this helicopter in my dreams when I was a kid I thought it might not be real but.... Damn how wrong I was

[@noahsawesomevids422]

lol 😂

[@rarebreed9208]

You'd think they could've found a way to make it louder.

[@Jon.A.Scholt]

RIP Headphone users

[@LA-ep2nr]

It’s not loud when Compared to single rotor helicopters. If you hear it, then you’re too late.

[@brianbarney1885]

It’s a lot louder than single rotor Sikorski helicopters.

[@kravenofspider]

I wonder if being inside of it would be like being next to a panel saw constantly running

[@savarzei]

I don't understand why they chose to put a propeller at the end of the helicopter instead of two turboreactors on each side of the cabin. It would have been the new airwolf piloted by Stringfellow Hawke...

[@zeke3486]

And why not go for ducting fans (Harrier) and skip the rotor blades.

[@m_amirulhadi]

to forward faster i believe

[@atomicskull6405]

​@@zeke3486 Harrier used jet engines not ducted fans. Regardless ducted fans are much less efficient than rotors. For example the F-35 and the S-64 Skycrane both have similar powerplants in terms of power output but the S-64 can lift itself and an additional 25,000 lbs while the F35 (which uses a ducted fan behind the cockpit to support the front end of the plane in VTOL) can lift itself and it's ordinance, which is considerably less than 25,000 lbs. An S-64 can lift an M1 tank on a sling, try that with an F-35 and see what happens. This is also why tiltrotors will never replace helicopters for "helicopter things" like lifting large loads and loitering in hover. The proprotors have to compromise between disk loading in hover and prop drag in forward flight so you end up with an aircraft that is a less than ideal helicopter and less than ideal airplane.

[@LA-ep2nr]

Fuel.

[@OmegaDoesThings]

It might be a year since asked, but the answer is Sikorsky already tried this: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_S-69 In addition to fuel consumption as already mentioned, the jet engines caused excessive vibration which would have adverse effects on operation and equipment lifespan. Furthermore, the jets reduced the strength of ground effect, making vertical takeoffs impossible.

[@alouiciousjackson5812]

Poor choice in title, there was no demonstration of agility here whatsoever

[@Tony-om5kr]

Has controllable pitch axis in hover and slow forward or reverse flight.

[@alouiciousjackson5812]

@@Tony-om5kr I'm sure it's awesome but they didn't show it here was my only complaint

[@bertg.6056]

@@alouiciousjackson5812 I would love to see it enter a hot LZ using the tail prop in reverse pitch to slow it down.

[@johniephillips9267]

Maybe that was the point lmao???

[@964cuplove]

Not exactly stealthily quiet, but rather impressive piece of equipment… Can the pusher be uncoupled ? Or does it always spin just pitched to zero angle ?

[@keepmahaney7412]

The sheer speed of this helicopter is outstanding.

[@another3997]

The Westland Lynx holds the world record for a pure helicopter, having achieved an average of 249mph over a 15km course back in 1986. It is also fully acrobatic and can carry 8 troops or a large variety of weapons ordinance. 35 years later and this COMPOUND helicopter is barely any faster and is less manoeuvrable. Even worse, the Lockheed Cheyenne prototypes from the late '60s were as fast and agile as this Sikorsky. Apart from the electronics and newer fly by wire technology, this machine really isn't that big an advance.

[@randomman057]

@@another3997 This helicopter is going to fly faster than 250 MPH you know that right?

[@ianmangham4570]

@@randomman057 Let me know when it does.

[@ceremyjlarkson9475]

Absurdly fast for how supposedly efficient they are. Apparently these are saving a lot of fuel and cruising at those high speeds at the same time. Likely can go faster, but we won't know for sure until prototype testing is really completed.

[@dickwong903]

Hope they can make a double quad or four quad heavy lift gunship

[@bikebudha01]

I can't wait to see which movie uses this chopper first... 3 blades for the bad guy to fall into...

[@johnfox4182]

It looks stupid fast! But I am a little surprised with how loud it is too.

[@mando074]

I want to see how fast it is with a full weapons load-out and crew compliment (including max number of troops transported).

[@another3997]

The Westland Lynx holds the world record for a pure helicopter, having achieved an average of 249mph over a 15km course back in 1986. It is also fully acrobatic and can carry 8 troops or a large variety of weapons ordinance. 35 years later and this COMPOUND helicopter is barely any faster and is less manoeuvrable. Even worse, the Lockheed Cheyenne prototypes from the late '60s were as fast and agile as this Sikorsky. Apart from the electronics and newer fly by wire technology, this machine really isn't that big an advance.

[@mimsnshine]

Buyers: Is this helicopter nimble? Seller: Hold my Sikorsky S-97 RAIDER

[@unknownname7731]

Great video!👍🏻

[@walkingthruyourdata-6019]

See! Marijuana and Engineering do work together! The Design engineer was that kid that got all the returned aviation model kits at the hobby store and made Frankenstein model's! who put's an upside down airplane tail and a prop on a double rotor helicopter! "Look Mom! It flies!" Love this copter! got folks thinking out of the box...America at it's finest!

[@jdaniel3068]

Dam that seems louder than just about any heli unless the sound is distorted/misleading. Gorgeous though.

[@jeffhester1443]

Doesn't even sound like a helicopter. I loved the hueys. But the capability of this aircraft is a turning point in history.

[@theflyinghamster8442]

Oh yes The KA 52 Alligator.

[@smokeypotter5876]

The pilot doesn't do the aircraft justice. I'm sure I could make her dance..🕺

[@falconeaterf15]

How much money did they print for this thing?

[@sgtmercado44]

How would hot refuel this s-97 raider or is capability for sling loading

[@benhudman7911]

Put it in the field and let the enemy give their own name.

[@gorethegreat]

A Ferrari of the helicopter fleet

[@carlosfandango6255]

It can only carry six people so what's the point of it?

[@HELIPORTVIDEO]

Nice video!!!

[@braulioml]

🛑 JUST HAVE 2 QUESTIONS 🛑 If that chopper is ready for the battle why have rectractile Wheels ..? Could be easily damage in a war , and is noisy as a hell

[@burtknighten1873]

Retractable wheels increase aerodynamics and top speed

[@einundsiebenziger5488]

... why does* it* have retractable* wheels?*

[@braulioml]

@@einundsiebenziger5488 sorry my English is not perfect I have my head full with Spanish, German , Italian and Portuguese Have a nice day genius 😁👍

[@kudoteeldihichaishinichi809]

S-97 RAIDER👍

[@folkblues4u]

Sounds like a swarm of very angry wasps heading for you.

[@richystar2001]

Should have a ducted fan for a more quiet flight.

[@atomicskull6405]

And less efficient.

[@carloscastillom.866]

Sorprende lo rapido que es.

[@Gunha0206]

This sounds terrifying as fuck

[@yuumetal2363]

why is this heli not yet sold to U.S military yet?

[@ChristopherLuth1974]

im sold does it come in black?

[@elitecoder955]

The Apache is also fast with a full loadout , lets see how it does when testing with full load

[@ioanbota9397]

I love this helicopter

[@subjectc7505]

They should name it the Mosquito

[@bigmanbig6683]

its so fucking rad, Team DEFIANT

[@stephendoherty8291]

The issue I would have is that the rear propeller looks very susceptible to small arms fire and then helicopter failure. Is the rear propeller just there to add speed and whats its speed without it. Its a pity the enclosed vertical rear propellers could not find a similar design for this , in order to protect it. It still looks smaller than the Valor

[@LA-ep2nr]

If the rear prop fails, you still have two counter rotating main rotors.

[@klk1900]

So fenestrons or fantails are literally the most sensitive things in the world. -- what you see on these birds with the open prop. You could shoot multiple holes in it and be fine. The fan or ducted tail systems are literally like turbo fan jet engines. Like the H145/as365/ec155/ec135/h135/ the rah-66 Comanche. These are all helos that have a counter TRQ fantail or fenestron. But they turn at 10,000-11,000rpm and the blades are extremely delicate. If the balance gets off even a hair it goes in self destruct mode. This is one reason the RAH-66 Comanche fell threw. Unfortunately I’ve seen bell or others are building another one with the fan tail and it’s sad! Let’s just say a fenestron is not the bird you wanna take to the X. .

[@dash8465]

Can that noisy tail be shut down for a stealthy approach or flying into noise sensitive/urban areas?

[@LA-ep2nr]

Yes. And, you don’t hear the noise until it’s on you. By then, it’s too late.

[@yungwildnfree]

@LA This is a scout helicopter though and not for attack...

[@theflyinghamster8442]

Didn't the Russians develop a co-axle attack chopper a few years ago with great success ??

[@Tony-om5kr]

Kamov KA-50 Hokum

[@einundsiebenziger5488]

@@Tony-om5kr The Ka-50 is not the first helicopter with co-axial rotors. The first heli of that design successfully flew in 1946.

[@galanthusnivalis788]

This success is burning on Ukrainian soil at the moment. Already lost around 20% of their combat ready helicopter fleet. Putin remains a master strategist.

[@cbgfgjfhfy7639]

No sound top.

[@ryancadwallader2049]

All that noise off the back fan will kill this project if they don't sort it. Quite typical of a pusher prop but there are ways around it.

[@seanc6754]

yeah that pusher prop does make some noise huh lol

[@C_Becker]

The "agility" is in fact the standard ability of just every helicopter. In fact, the thing is not very agile due to its construction of the rotorhead. It is fast. But not agile.

[@TheStevelargent]

What about stealth?

[@haditjandradjaja8403]

Even russia can hear easily where the machine is/are, or is this a new flying killer soundwave machine ?

[@AdrianReynoso19]

Anyone else get Cyberdyne systems feels from that ass end ???

[@dickwong903]

They should make this helicopter and the v-280 two platforms for all branches of the military

[@haditjandradjaja8403]

It is noisier than Concorde.

[@nicodetoffol6945]

Beautiful but nothing new, Lockheed cheyenne did all the same 50 years ago

[@Jon.A.Scholt]

Moment of silence for Headphone users

[@boroprikaza2138]

They need to add like 5more blades on that pusher prop and make it as close to a fenestron tail rotor as possible Its too damn loud

[@RW_CreativeMedia]

Why this aircraft have Russian name on it

[@einundsiebenziger5488]

Why does* this aircraft have a* Russian name on it?* Because Igor Sikorsky, founder of the Sikorsky helicopter company was an ethnic Russian, born in Ukraine in 1889, then part of the Russian empire. He emigrated to the US where he became a US citizen and started developing helicopters.

[@thomasmarked2233]

Get to the chopper!!!

[@creamcheese6662]

Waiting to see chinas exact copy but made w crappy parts

[@MelonHead887]

A modest upgrade from the Blackhawk at best. V280 is so much more impressive, in every category.

[@Predator42ID]

Indeed, the V280, hasn't had any delays or budget problems and aside from being a little bit larger has greater speed, range, and cargo capacity.

[@another3997]

The Westland Lynx holds the world record for a pure helicopter, having achieved an average of 249mph over a 15km course back in 1986. It is also fully acrobatic and can carry 8 troops or a large variety of weapons ordinance. 35 years later and this COMPOUND helicopter is barely any faster and is less manoeuvrable. Even worse, the Lockheed Cheyenne prototypes from the late '60s were as fast and agile as this Sikorsky. Apart from the electronics and newer fly by wire technology, this machine really isn't that big an advance.

[@atomicskull6405]

One of the goals of this program is to have a common platform for transport and gunships similar to how the USMC has the AH-1 and UH-1 and the V-280 is a no go for that because a tiltrotor would make a terrible gunship (not as good as a pure helicopter in loiter and hover) and the USAF would never tolerate it anyway. Part of the key west agreement is that the Army is prohibited from armed fixed wings and if the USAF complained about the AH-56 over it's stub wings they would certainly complain about a tiltrotor gunship.

[@nobstompah4850]

it's not a blackhawk replacement it's a kiowa replacement

[@noahsawesomevids422]

Wow 😯 aaa speedy fello

[@hayabusa27]

Thats way fast for a chopper

[@prasanna4204]

i think there is no such strong helicopter in the world.

[@stefancreciunas6381]

🇺🇸💪

[@prasitpahusatjatam2780]

I want sosser

[@keko0o0o0o0]

Looks small, or maybe just my eyes.

[@Predator42ID]

Three quarters of it is engine and drive shaft, not much space in the cabin.

[@joe3973]

They should have installed a jet engine designed in the back like AH 56 cheyenne

[@atomicskull6405]

The AH-56 used a pusher like same this (specifically a constant RPM variable thrust prop with fully reversible pitch). The "jet engine" you are referring to was the turboshaft engine that powered the rotor system. A turboshaft uses the same principle as a turbojet but uses hot gases to drive a rotating shaft via a turbine rather than to generate thrust. Most modern helicopters use a turboshaft engine. The M1 Abrams also uses a turboshaft instead of a piston engine. M1 turboshaft startup: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIvJh4NnbtJ3o5Y K-Max helicopter turbine startup: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmKxiIqGftujoZI In spite of having an exhaust that looks a lot like a jet nozzle, they do not generate thrust, it's just an exhaust. The energy from the expanding gas is all captured by the turbine on the shaft and converted into torque and the waste heat is extracted from the exhaust and recycled back into the burner.

[@LA-ep2nr]

Turbine engines eat a lot of fuel. It would significantly reduce its range.

[@jaytm2574]

Sounds like a swarm of wasps...

[@khwaac]

It sounds like a big mosquito

[@kennedy7955]

To me it looks exactly like the Russian helicopter's flying over Ukraine

[@galanthusnivalis788]

Most of them are downed 😂. The remaining shoting rockets from safe distance they fear the MANPADS like hell.

[@Only_God_Is_Allah_SWT]

That's a nice RC helicopter. Nice paint job. Even if they make a real aircraft; it'd be literal RPG missile magnet. How convenient.

[@rolandorobles5780]

S97Raider, Ka50, at Ka52 Aligator dapat magkroon tayo niyan before 2028 kahit man lang tag iisang Squadron bawat model O type nito para sa ating PAF na matagal na nilang Panaginip na kong may mga Bagong Likha ng Light Attack Helicopter makabili man lang ang ating Goberno ng Ganyan na AH peru wag tayong magpakawalang pag Asa dumating yan Brooo..

[@nknksolutions8393]

It cannot fly backward

[@seaskimmer9071]

Yes, it can. Up to 40 knots. Do the research.

[@abram730]

@@seaskimmer9071 "Yes, it can. Up to 40 knots." France: We are interested!

[@O-Ben]

Cannot fly sideways..

[@seaskimmer9071]

Yes, it can. Do the research.

[@O-Ben]

@@seaskimmer9071 yeah.. Thanks for heads up. Yes it can fly sideways.

[@fox_of_the_streetz4958]

This helicopter looks like a 5 year old draw it

[@Raj-xo9ws]

Too noisy

[@robertduklus6555]

oh dear, american helicopters catching up to russian choppers provided this will enter production. Russians must be flattered usa is copying their design of coaxial blades.

[@galanthusnivalis788]

Brantly B-1 was developed in USA 1946, 3 years befor Kamov-10 first flight. It is very likely that all the ideas are stolen from Germany in the WW2, like the rocket technology. They still using old Soyuz rockets from 1957. Most of the knowledge is from deported German scientists.

[@killingfields1424]

The Army has the craziest needs in vertical aircraft. As big as the Osprey and as fast as the Harrier. Then they should put two Harrier engine on the Osprey. Crazy idiots

[@justinwalker1810]

🙃

[@gamingd266]

just cause 3 urga mstitel :D

[@marcorufa2157]

Too noisy.

[@user-le9wk7hd1j]

빠르긴한데 드럽게 시끄럽네요.. (( >_

[@jeffreyprezalar220]

So we caught up to the Russians 40 years later,k26 flying since the late 70s,kamov 28,since the 80s,kamov 52 since the 90s,last 2 not in great #s till the mid 2000s.

[@CydroGrazz]

gosh its so ugly

[@marcafterdark1003]

So America buying Russian aircraft now

[@bloodypine22]

Sikorsky isn't a russian company,

[@marcafterdark1003]

@@bloodypine22 well what county are the helicopters from

[@bloodypine22]

@@marcafterdark1003 Sikorsky Aircraft is an american company. Founded in the 20s by an Ukrainian immigrant.

[@marcafterdark1003]

@@bloodypine22well I stand corrected

[@danielg.1698]

Beautiful Russian helicopter. 🇷🇺👋

[@galanthusnivalis788]

It is an US helicopter, the difference is obvious, it is flying.