{"id":54860,"date":"2019-03-21T20:47:03","date_gmt":"2019-03-21T20:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/03\/21\/sikorsky-boeing-defiant-helo-takes-first-flight\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:04:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:04:05","slug":"sikorsky-boeing-defiant-helo-takes-first-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/land\/2019\/03\/21\/sikorsky-boeing-defiant-helo-takes-first-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"WATCH: Sikorsky-Boeing Defiant helo takes first flight"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/atype-video-jwplayer>
The Sikorsky\/Boeing Defiant helicopter has flown for the first time in Florida.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

WASHINGTON \u2014The Sikorsky-Boeing SB-1 Defiant<\/a> coaxial helicopter took off from a West Palm Beach, Florida, facility in the early morning on March 21 for its first flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flight has been a long-time coming as the Sikorsky-Boeing team worked through delays for well over a year and a half related to manufacturing issues with the system\u2019s blades<\/a>. The team hoped to fly by the end of last year<\/a> but while running the power-train systems test bed, engineers discovered a series of issues that caused them to hit pause on testing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team required 15 hours of flawless test results in ground runs before releasing Defiant to the skies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The helicopter \u2014 which is part of the Army\u2019s Joint Multi-Role technology demonstration program aimed at helping the service define requirements for a medium-lift Future Vertical Lift aircraft \u2014 took of at 7:47 a.m. and flew for more than 30 minutes. It successfully performed low-speed maneuvers, according to a written statement sent to Defense News from the Sikorsky-Boeing team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday\u2019s flight was a tremendous success and a culmination of a lot of work by the men and women of the Sikorsky-Boeing team DEFIANT team,\u201d they wrote. \u201cSo much credit goes to their tireless efforts to get us to where we are today.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team executing the test flight was \u201cvery pleased” with the initial analysis and will further examine the data in the coming days and will schedule additional flights in the near term, the team said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, this was never about how quickly we got to the first flight, but rather about providing the U.S. Army with the necessary, robust and relevant data that will enable them to make fully informed decisions as they pursue the Future Vertical Lift program and we\u2019re doing that,\u201d they stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The SB-1 Defiant flew for more than 30 minutes in its first flight in Florida on March 21, 2019. (Courtesy of Sikorsky-Boeing)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The propulsion systems testbed proved to be \u201ctremendous asset,” according to the team, which allowed them to test the aircraft extensively before flight to reduce risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flight comes at a critical time as the service is looking to move at warp speed to buy not one but two FVL aircraft \u2014 one long-range assault and one attack reconnaissance aircraft<\/a> \u2014 back-to-back to replace its current fleet as part of a huge modernization push.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the new Army Futures Command, tasked to develop a modernized force focused on six major priorities, Future Vertical Lift is the third highest priority behind Long Range Precision Fires and Next-Generation Combat Vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\t