Making its first public appearance here, the Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche combat helicopter is claimed to be the most advanced aircraft of its type. The prototype has already reached a forward speed of 175 kt, sideways speeds of 75 kt and rearward speeds up to 70 kt, in 105 hours of tests. The second aircraft, which will test the RAH-66 mission equipment package (MEP), will fly next year.

The U.S. Army is making changes to the Comanche program to provide fully equipped aircraft sooner. The next six aircraft were to have been delivered in 2002 in an early operational capability (EOC) configuration, but would not have full MEP capability until 2004. Now, these aircraft will be delivered as pre-production prototype (PPP) articles, with full MEPs, in 2003, in time to participate in the Army's Force XXI "digital army" exercises in 2004. The Army is also accelerating development of the Comanche's fire-control radar, which will now be fitted to the first operational Comanches in 2006.

Comanche is the world's first stealthy helicopter-or, at least, the first to be unveiled. Low-observable features include the quiet five-blade rotor and shrouded tail rotor. With its fly-by-wire control system and advanced rotor blade design, the Comanche can fly at low speeds with reduced rotor RPM to further reduce noise. The helicopter's infrared suppression system is the most elaborate in existence-the exhaust from the LHTEC T800 engines is ducted into mixer nozzles arranged on the sides of the tailboom, which blend the hot exhaust gas with cool air from the rotor downwash. Shaping and radar absorbent materials give the Comanche a smaller radar cross section than the OH-58D Kiowa's mast-mounted sight.

By Bill Sweetman