The Trump Administration affirmed its support for the Army’s Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program with a $790 million FY2020 research and development program funding request last month. Days later, the Sikorsky-Boeing team announced the SB-1 Defiant compound helicopter had made its first flight on March 21 at Sikorsky’s West Palm Beach test site. The aircraft builds on the technology Sikorsky developed for the X2 and S-97 Raider demonstration aircraft and features two composite coaxial main rotors and an aft propulsor. The 30-minute first flight was devoted to slow speed maneuvers and the propulsor was not engaged. The Defiant’s first flight comes 15 months after its main FVL competitor, Bell’s V-280 third-generation tiltrotor, made its first flight. Both aircraft are designed to show the increased speed and range their respective designs afford compared to traditional rotorcraft. The Defiant’s flight delay was due in part to initial difficulties related to fabricating its rigid main rotor blades.
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