Before now, the service had only said that the new rotorcraft would serve as a successor to the now-retired OH-58D Kiowa Warrior.
US Army
. The U.S. Army says it plans to replace nearly half of its AH-64 Apachegunship helicopters with a new pilot-optional attack reconnaissance rotorcraft, which could be either an advanced helicopter or a tilt-rotor design, in the coming years. The service previously only said its goal was to adopt a successor to the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior light scout helicopter with the new types and these new details raise questions about the exact future of the Apache fleet in general.
Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley first alluded to the plan in a response to a question about what the service calls the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program while testifying before Congress on Mar. 26, 2019. Aviation Week’s Defense Editor and our friend Steve Trimble was able to get more details from Milley’s spokesperson and was kind enough to share them on Twitter, before reporting first on the new developments himself.
“The FARA will only replace Apaches in our heavy attack reconnaissance squadrons and this represents about half of the Apache fleet,” the spokesperson said. “The FARA will not replace Apaches in the Attack Reconnaissance battalions.”
This is a major shift from the previously stated plan of simply looking for a follow-on platform to perform the same light scout missions as the OH-58D, the very last of which the Army retired in 2017. This had seemed like an additive requirement. With more 700 AH-64s in various configurations spread across its active-duty component and the Army National Guard, the service now says it is looking to replace close to 350 of those aircraft with the future FARA design, starting within the next decade.
US Army | AH-64 Apaches.
The Army first announced plans for a “Competitive Prototype” fly-off to find a FARA rotorcraft – the service hasn’t said it is looking for a specific configuration, such as a compound helicopter or a tilt-rotor – in June 2018. The service’s goal is to be able to reach initial operational capability with whatever design it picks by 2028.
“We’re looking for an aircraft that, without going into specific requirements or classifications, essentially goes further, can see further, can acquire specific targets further and can engage at greater ranges than current exist, and has greater legs – can fly further with a greater payload of weapon systems,” Milley explained on Capitol Hill. “We’re already moving in that direction with research and development and the development of prototypes.”
The Army has otherwise given few details about its requirements for the FARA, which it has also described as a "knife-fighter." The service has said that the rotorcraft will have to be able to fly faster than 230 miles per hour. It will also need to be able to operate in high-risk contested environments full of enemy air defenses, which would presumably require features to reduce infrared and radar signatures, as well as dense urban environments. A robust electronic warfare suite and the ability to fly in a pilot-optional mode are also must-haves. You can read more about the general concept, based on the information available, here.
The S-97 Raider compound helicopter has long seemed the design best positioned to take the lead in the FARA program. Sikorsky, now part of Lockheed Martin, planned from the beginning to make the design capable of unmanned operation. The S-97 is particularly attractive given how mature the design, which is an outgrowth of technology Sikorsky first demonstrated in 2008, is already. A demonstrator has been flying since 2015 and a second prototype is now in flight testing. The Army is considering other designs, too.