BAE Systems' US arm is developing a fly-by-wire flight-control system for Sikorsky's H-92 Superhawk, a version of the S-92 with uprated engines and other improvements and the basis of the company's offering for the VXX US presidential helicopter requirement.
BAE's rotorcraft vehicle management system (RVMS) is a triplex digital flight-control system developed using commercial components and intended for multiple platforms, unlike the company's fly-by-wire systems for the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, Boeing Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche and Bell/Agusta Aerospace BA609 civil tiltrotor, which are specific to each aircraft.
The military H-92 is the first application of the system, which uses BAE's own CS-LEOS real-time, flight-critical operating system.
First flight of the RVMS on the H-92 is planned for 2005. Fly-by-wire will reduce weight by eliminating mechanical control links and improve handling qualities through new control laws and control modes. BAE is targeting the system at retrofit and upgrade applications, which potentially include the Sikorsky UH-60M and CH-53X, as well as the Block 3 Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow.
Source: Flight International
