U.S. Army's Search for a New Scout Helicopter was Definitely Inspired by 'Avatar'
This is why.by Task and Purpose
June 23, 2019 The Army expects to choose the final helo design by 2020. Avatar 2 hits theaters in December 2021.
The Army is currently on track to officially select a brand new armed scout helicopter by some time in 2020, and with several future vertical life prototypes flexing their muscles in a bid for the freakishly lucrative contract, the service's chief advocacy group decided to remind the world where the inspiration for its new copter really came from.
So Avatar at $30 million a pop, basically.
The quad-turbine air cab appears on the front cover of some Association of the U.S. Army 2019 annual meeting literature spotted by Samuel Bendett, an analyst for the Center fo Naval Analyses and "mad scientist" with the Army Training And Doctrine Command.
The artists's depiction of a future vertical lift concept has been floating around since at least 2015, and I am honestly embarrassed that I didn't make the connection sooner.
<..snip..>
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/us-armys-search-new-scout-helicopter-was-definitely-inspired-avatar-63882
