Sikorsky showcased a prototype of a Raider X helicopter with modular launchers equipped with Hellfire missiles and a 20mm cannon.

The prototype was submitted by Sikorsky for the US Army’s Future Strike Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program. The helicopter is about 90 percent complete and has 98 percent of the parts needed to complete the Raider, according to Jay McLean, business development director for Sikorsky Army Programs and Innovations.

“Our admission testing procedures are more than 50 percent complete. We work very closely with the US Army throughout the Assembly and they are extremely involved in every aspect,” said McLean.

The presentation showed that the three-barreled main gun was placed under the chin of the helicopter. Its modular launchers have been enlarged, but can be folded into the fuselage to reduce drag in flight. These pods can be loaded with other munitions, including air-based drones. They can be removed to make room for assault teams or to evacuate the wounded.

Both halves of the windshield and portholes were fitted to each of the two cabin doors. The main rotor mast – or two of them are intertwined, the masts – is attached, but the main helicopter’s eight rotor blades are missing. Also missing is the eight-bladed thruster, which should have been mounted at the end of the tail mast.

“Many of the subsystems are installed and undergoing functional testing. The second fuselage was built at a separate Sikorsky facility in Long Island, New York. This airframe will be loaded on the test frame and subjected to structural load testing,” said Pete Germanowski, Chief Engineer of Sikorsky FARA. The data collected during the flight will be used to prepare the working prototype Raider X for flight.