The V-280 Valor tiltrotor will become the main helicopter of the US Army. The V-280 won the tender, which also included the Defiant X helicopter, developed by Sikorsky and Boeing. The US will replace 2,000 Army UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters with one unified Bell V-280. The V-280 Valor tiltrotor was developed by Bell Helicopter and Lockheed Martin. The V-280 has an all-composite fuselage, superior flight performance and lower cost than the competition. The V-280 Valor does not have a removable rotary wing, which significantly reduces the weight of the machine, and there is no rotary engine - only the propeller rotor changes the position. By using dual motors with common drive shafts, both rotors can be powered by the same motor in the event of a mechanical failure. The tiltrotor crew consists of four people and can carry up to 14 paratroopers with heavy weapons. The tiltrotor has a cruising speed of 520 km/h, a service ceiling of 1800 meters and a combat range of up to 1480 kilometers.
US Armed Forces
- Thread starter Jaeger
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Northrop Grumman in the United States tested the Hatchet loitering ammunition launched from the MQ-1C Gray Eagle heavy UAV. Hatchet ammunition can hit objects with an accuracy of up to 2 meters, and its weight of 2.7 kilograms allows the Gray Eagle UAV to take on board up to 12 such loitering charges. The aerial bomb uses two versions of the guidance system, one uses GPS signals, the other is combined, using satellite navigation and a semi-active laser homing head. Ammunition "Hatchet" is packed in a launch container, after the release of the bomb from the container, the control surfaces are revealed. In this case, three sensors are activated, detecting a laser “spot” of target designation. The planning aerial bomb "Hatchet" has a high-explosive fragmentation warhead, the power of which is enough to defeat manpower and unprotected enemy equipment. The price of ammunition "Hatchet" has not yet been reported.
The United States conducted another test of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, the missile was launched from the Vandenberg base in California. Minuteman III is the only land-based intercontinental ballistic missile currently in service with the United States since 1970. The Minuteman III missile has three warheads and is capable of hitting a target at a distance of up to 13,000 kilometers. The Minuteman III missile is one of the fastest nuclear missiles in the world, its speed reaches 30,000 km per hour, at the moment it is faster only by Russia's Avangard strategic hypersonic complex, which we talked about earlier. The United States currently has about 450 Minuteman III missiles in service, some of them used for testing. The missiles will expire in 2030.