“If we didn't have an S-97, we'd have to wait another year-plus to be able to fly those data points and to inform our production design,” said Sikorsky's chief engineer for the company's Raider-X FARA offering.
The question of whether the Defense Department or the primes should own all the data rights to various elements of the FVL program is a simplistic, false choice, says a CSBA senior fellow.
If the Army heeds industry's emphasis on protecting intellectual property than a dependence on proprietary technology will hamstring FVL’s ability to address evolving threats.
Army officials assure lawmakers they're putting their Future Vertical Lift helos through the testing ringers, and that the aircraft they're meant to replace won't be going anywhere anytime soon.