Billed as "the next big thing in Army aviation," the video shows the coaxial helicopter smoothly gliding through the sky, as well as taking off and landing. The Raider is a small and light helicopter, meant to carry no more than two pilots and six troops.
Lockheed described the Raider as a light tactical helicopter, meant to operate in both high temperatures (95 degrees Fahrenheit) and altitudes (10,000 feet in the air.) They say that it can be adapted for light assault, armed reconnaissance, close-air support, search-and-rescue and even conversion into an unmanned vessel.
The S-97 is intended for the Armed Aerial Scout program in the US Army. The $200 million project budget was initially designed to replace the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopters, which have been continuously used for scouting and fire support since the Vietnam War.
The acquisition program to replace the Kiowa Warrior was placed on hold due to budget cuts, but Sikorsky still intends to complete and sell the Raider to the US military.
The Raider is based on the Sikorsky X2, a $50 million helicopter model first developed in 2008.
Sikorsky is famous for their UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters and SH-60 Seahawk naval helicopters, two of the most successful and popular helicopter models of the modern era.
Lockheed has also unveiled the SB>1>Defiant, a high-speed coaxial helicopter prototype meant to one day replace the UH-60M Blackhawk transport. The Defiant, which boasts a top speed of 300 miles per hour, is based off the same X2 design as the Raider.
