The US Army has begun flight tests of the armament complex of a promising high-speed reconnaissance helicopter - the XM915 20-millimeter air cannon and a prototype MEL launcher for multipurpose ammunition and missiles. As reported by FlightGlobal, they are being tested on a modified UH-60 Black Hawk multipurpose helicopter.
Bell Helicopter with 360 Invictus and Sikorsky with Raider-X are fighting for a contract with the US army for the supply of a high-speed reconnaissance helicopter. They must build and test prototypes of their machines no later than 2023. The military requires that the reconnaissance helicopter weighs less than 6.4 tons and can fly at a speed of at least 333 kilometers per hour. It will have to replace the aging OH-58D Kiowa Warrior.
In October, the US Army began testing the armament of a promising high-speed reconnaissance helicopter - the XM915 air gun and a prototype MEL launcher - on a modified UH-60 Black Hawk multipurpose helicopter.
XM915 is developed by General Dynamics. The rate of fire of this gun with a rotating block of barrels is much higher than that of the M3P, which stands on the OH-58D. It can fire up to 1,500 rounds per minute, and the M3P is only 1,025.
MEL can launch a variety of ammunition, from missiles to small drones. It is assumed that the high-speed reconnaissance helicopter will have two such installations, one on each side.
Earlier we wrote that another air gun is being developed for a promising helicopter — the Sky Viper. It is created on the basis of the M230 20 mm caliber cannon, which stands on the AH-64 Apache shock.
Vasilisa Chernyavtseva
