Sikorsky may take next-gen X2 chopper off the back-burner

Washington: Sikorsky Aircraft Corp, a unit of United Technologies Corp, is mulling reviving research on its X2 next-generation helicopter later in the year. Dow Jones Newswires quotes Sikorsky president Jeff Pino as saying that the first flight of the X2 design could easily take place within two-and-a-half months of the project coming off the back-burner..

The X2 project was launched by Sikorsky in 2005, with the expectation that the first flight would take place by the end of 2006. But a 10-week strike at the company led to the project being put on hold. The shelving also coincided with a surging demand for its military helicopters, notably the Black Hawk, with fighting intensifiing in Iraq and Afghanistan. Renewed demand for its products also dampened enthusiasm within the company for advancing research on the X2.

The X2 design would see a helicopter with two rotors placed one above the other, and spinning in different directions. Such a 'contra' movement would allow the X2 to fly faster than a conventional helicopter.

However, industry analysts feel that a booming demand for helicopters, particularly as the US military goes in for massive combat aircraft purchase in the coming decade, would see existing technologies consolidate their presence in the market, forcing newer technologies to mark time. Some even go so far as to predict that newer technologies may not be inducted for decades. The Army, Navy and the US Marine Corps are set to purchase thousands of helicopters in the coming years, such as the easily available Sikorsky Black Hawk and the Boeing Chinook.

The state of Sikorsky's Black Hawk production lines had drawn hostile fire from  Pentagon auditors late last year, but the company says that issues have now been satisfactorily resolved.