SB>1 Defiant Takes Flight: Can It Catch Bell?
The thing that delayed Defiant, it turns out, is the same thing that makes it really attractive to the Army.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. on March 21, 2019 at 6:34 PM
WASHINGTON: Months behind schedule and more than a year behind archrival Bell, the Sikorsky-Boeing candidate to replace 2,000 Black Hawk helicopters took flight today for the first time. It’s particularly good news for Boeing after a brutal month. It’s also good news for the Army, which is early pursuing Future Vertical Lift aircraft with the speed and range to survive on future battlefields against Russia or China.
The Sikorsky-Boeing SB>1 Defiant achieved first flight 15 months after Bell’s V-280 Valor first flew in December 2017. In fact, Bell’s finished most of its flight testing and is pondering extra credit tests or even a road trip to major Army bases to show off.
https://breakingdefense.com/2019/03/sb1-defiant-takes-flight-can-it-catch-bell/
