Sikorsky X2 to begin final flight-test phase
Sikorsky Aircraft announced the X2 project just over five years ago at the 2005 Paris Air Show.

Sikorsky Aircraft announced the X2 project just over five years ago at the 2005 Paris Air Show. Now the one and only example of what the helicopter maker calls a “technology demonstrator” is poised to break the record as the world’s fastest rotorcraft as it works its way toward a target speed of 250 knots and further proof of concept.

A modified Westland Lynx holds the current speed record for a helicopter–just over 216 knots–which it set on Aug. 11, 1986. But this was, of course, a singular event. The current in-production AgustaWestland Lynx 300 has a maximum cruise speed of 132 knots. Sikorsky aims to prove that the experimental X2 design will be able maintain sustainable cruise speeds well in excess of 200 knots.