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.
211216-N-QI061-1222 NAVAL STATION MAYPORT, Fla. (December 16, 2021) An MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), assigned to Unmanned Patrol Squadron 19 (VUP-19), sits on the flight line at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, Dec. 16, 2021. VUP-19, the Navy’s first Triton squadron, will continue to maintain and operate the aircraft off the East Coast to further develop the concept of operations and refine tactics, techniques, and procedures. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nathan T. Beard/ Released)