Airbus Helicopters has revealed an updated concept for its Rapid And Cost-Effective Rotorcraft (RACER) at the Paris Air Show. The new concept features updated aerodynamics which will help the platform reach a cruise speed of more than 400 kph.
The company designed the RACER based on its X3. The airframe of the platform will be a hybrid metallic-composite for reduced weight and it will be equipped with a new high voltage direct current electrical generation contributing the same goal. Final assembly of the demonstrator is expected to start in 2019, with a first flight the next year.