In the United States, they decided to abandon fenestron when creating a promising attack reconnaissance helicopter Bell 360 Invictus

In the United States, some details of the implementation of the program to create a promising Bell 360 Invictus helicopter are indicated. This development is carried out under the FARA program, funded by the US military. The first information about specific work on this program and on the implementation of initial tests appeared.

It is noted that when creating a two-seater attack reconnaissance helicopter, modern requests from the US Army are taken into account. In this regard, the army aviation puts before the developers the task of creating a high-speed rotorcraft, which will be a multifunctional platform. Depending on the immediate combat mission, the helicopter can be equipped with various types of weapons, including anti-tank guided missiles and other means of destruction of ground targets.

Bell has been assembling the first prototype since the end of 2020. At the moment, it is reported that the integration of the fuselage with some other structural elements has already been completed. The main rotor is installed, the transmission is mounted, the electrical equipment is being installed.

It is known that the combat vehicle will receive an open tail rotor. The developers decided to abandon plans to use a fenestron or an impeller (a closed tail rotor in the tail fairing - in the first photo in the material). The open tail rotor is reported to allow the crew to "better control the combat vehicle when maneuvering at high speed."

Placing pilots in the helicopter cockpit:

The first flight tests of the Bell 360 Invictus helicopter are planned for 2023. These helicopters are going to be used, among other things, as a replacement for the American V-22 Osprey converters from the same company.

Comments

[Cananecat]

The abandonment of the impeller is quite logical, it will not only improve controllability, but also increase its survivability. In the presented version, the survivability of the tail rotor is highly questionable for a combat helicopter.

[Thrifty]

Canecat - so, in this version, the speed of the helicopter will be lower, because an open propeller gives less aerodynamic resistance to the air flow than a propeller closed by a casing, this is an axiom. Physics and aerodynamics cannot be fooled, open surfaces slow down the incoming air flow, and reduce the aerodynamic resistance of the body!

[APASUS]

Quote: Thrifty

Canecat - so, in this version, the speed of the helicopter will be lower, because an open propeller gives less aerodynamic resistance to the air flow than a propeller closed by a casing, this is an axiom.

In this version, the Europeans repeat the American design RAH-66 Comanche. To reduce the heat trace, I feed the exhaust gases of the engine into the fenestron

[Bad_gr]

Ours, when creating the Mi-24 helicopter, also considered the option with fenestron.

[ProkletyiPirat]

Quote: Thrifty

because an open propeller gives less aerodynamic resistance to the air flow than a propeller closed with a casing, this is an axiom. Physics and aerodynamics cannot be fooled, open surfaces slow down the incoming air flow, and reduce the aerodynamic resistance of the body!

WHAAAA ??? You have to contradict yourself so much ...

1) an open tail rotor, relatively closed, when flying forward, creates additional resistance (aircraft braking when the tail blade moves forward)
2) a closed tail rotor, relatively open, when maneuvering, has a smaller volume of passing air => therefore: less thrust, => therefore: worse maneuverability and stability of the aircraft (such an aircraft has a yaw problem).

[Victor Tsenin]

> These helicopters are going to be used, among other things, as a replacement for the American V-22 Osprey converters from the same company.

It is not clear how a light attack helicopter is a replacement for a transport tiltrotor?
There might be something like in the movie about the Bradley BMP, something extremely profitable, you know)

[voyaka uh]

Why is he just needed?
Drones have confidently taken up this niche.
Both reconnaissance and light percussion drones
perform confidently.
Without the risk of killing two pilots in one car.
Helicopters are indispensable for transporting cargo in the absence of a runway.
For landing, although tiltroplanes are more promising here: farther and faster.
Another heavy attack helicopter I can imagine. Finish off armored vehicles after the drones destroy the air defense. And with air supremacy.

[knn54]

Alexey, you can get an interesting "reconnaissance and strike complex": a helicopter - a carrier of missiles, (and maybe a landing party - to perform a specific task) a drone (s) - a reconnaissance and a target indicator. You can control drones from a helicopter to perform the last of the above tasks.

[Victor Tsenin]

What do you mean why? Machines do not yet know how to think, so in the near future manned aircraft are relevant, operational and effective.

[voyaka uh]

Machines do not know how, but drone operators and intelligence and air force officers who direct the operators are very good at thinking.
Moreover, thinking is not in a state of constant stress, like helicopter pilots over enemy territory, but in a calm working environment in a bunker.

[Victor Tsenin]

It's like that. However, I proceed from the efficiency of decision-making and neutralization of the enemy. Quality, communication delay, channel width, electronic warfare, interception / disruption of control, all of this is not critical for a manned aircraft. But it is promising to control the UAV from a manned vehicle, on which, in fact, developed countries are in full swing.

[Barberry25]

well, what if it works ... it's a jump of the dough you can raise ... in real life, now you can make carriers of kamikaze drones and long-range missiles a la Hermes from helicopters ... we promise the mi-35 has a pretty good future maybe

[Shopping Mall]

Quote: voyaka uh

Why is he just needed?
Drones have confidently taken up this niche.
Both reconnaissance and light percussion drones
perform confidently.
Without the risk of killing two pilots in one car.
Helicopters are indispensable for transporting cargo in the absence of a runway.
For landing, although tiltroplanes are more promising here: farther and faster.
Another heavy attack helicopter I can imagine. Finish off armored vehicles after the drones destroy the air defense. And with air supremacy.

You cannot put all your eggs in one basket. At the very least, combat helicopters are necessary to escort the troopers, their pilots will cover them faster and more efficiently than UAVs. Which, however, does not negate the use of UAVs in a bundle.

In addition, now there is a tendency to link a manned aircraft / helicopter and a UAV, when the former performs the function of an advanced command post, the communication of which with the UAV is much more difficult to suppress than a UAV with a remote control unit.

[lucul]

You look at these helicopters and you see an improved Mi-24)))
The Mi-24 is like a bicycle, you can repeat it, but you can hardly surpass it)))

[Crabong]

Waste of money.

[crambol]

The USA decided to abandon fenestron

and switch to alcoholomycin with pivanol.

[Engineer]

A strange decision: the fenestron is smaller in diameter, which means there are less chances of defeat, moreover, it is covered by the structural elements of the tail boom and the keel, it has less resistance to flow, which means higher speed, which is important for a reconnaissance officer, as well as lower acoustic and radar signature. It is also safer to operate. Sacrificing all these advantages for more scout maneuverability?

[Denis Shestakov]

These are not these helicopters:
"One of the most ambitious saws in the history of the world military-industrial complex. Miracle helicopter, at a cost of $ 4,9 billion per copy."
https://zen.yandex.ru/media/id/5cbc1d66621b6d00b28aefbd/odin-iz-samyh-grandioznyh-popilov-v-istorii-mirovogo-vpk-chudovertolet-cenoi-v-49-mlrd-dollarov-za-odin-ekzempliar-60fbd9b73b939a51faed3af1

Or was that project closed and started over again?

[Pavel57]

Quote: Bad_gr

Ours, when creating the Mi-24 helicopter, also considered the option with fenestron.

The practice of fenestron on the Ka-60 was long.