The latest helicopter of the Chinese Communist Party exposed! Its appearance replicates the US Army’s S-97 Raider. From the Black Hawk to the Z-20, all the way to today, the CCP has been “following in the footsteps of the US” in the helicopter field. Why does China want to replicate the US S-97 Raider helicopter? Why do Chinese, American, and Russian helicopters use coaxial counter-rotating propellers?
We know that although the CCP verbally opposes the US and constantly criticizes America, deep down it is clear that American weapons and equipment are undoubtedly the best in the world. Secretly, they continue to steal technology from the US, copying American weapons such as the J-35 and F-35 being identical, with the Z-20 and Black Hawk helicopters being produced from the same mold.
Recently, a photo surfaced online showing China is developing a new helicopter. This helicopter’s typical feature is a coaxial counter-rotating propeller on the top, with two propellers rotating in opposite directions and a tail propeller responsible for propulsion. This aircraft design, its overall structure is identical to the US S-97 Raider X helicopter.
In late 2022, the US Army announced that the V-280 Valor rotorcraft by Bell Helicopter became the next-generation independent flight platform for the US Army, beating what we called the Raider X helicopter. The most outstanding feature of this helicopter is the coaxial counter-rotating propellers on the top, with two propellers rotating in opposite directions.
We know that the first country globally to use coaxial counter-rotating propellers was the Soviet Union and Russia, like the Kamov Group-produced Ka-27, Ka-28 helicopters, including the armed Ka-25 helicopter.
The CCP has long coveted the technology of coaxial counter-rotating propellers. In the 1990s, Colonel Yao Cheng was sent to Southeast Asia to steal a former Soviet Ka-28 helicopter. This incident was planned jointly by the Navy and Harbin Aircraft, also known as Harbin Aircraft Industry Group, specializing in helicopter research and development.
However, despite all the stealing, the CCP eventually copied the ready-made design from the United States. Today, we will briefly discuss what coaxial counter-rotating propellers are and why the CCP plagiarized the design plans of the US Raider X.
When I was younger, I always had a question while watching helicopters fly – why does a helicopter have a tail and why is there a small fan on the tail? And it only rotates in one direction, what is it for?
Actually, the small propeller at the tail is designed to balance the moment. The helicopters we see today have only one propeller on top, which provides lift as it rotates upward. However, with every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When the propeller rotates in one direction, it will exert a moment on the helicopter. If not balanced, the aircraft will be subject to torque, causing it to rapidly and uncontrollably rotate.
So, how to deal with this situation? Engineers have to install a small propeller at the tail of the helicopter to generate horizontal force, balancing the moment, without providing any power to the aircraft. We know that moment is force multiplied by length, so to balance this moment, the tail of the helicopter has to be longer.
This is the design of the helicopter we see today – a cylindrical fuselage with the propeller on top providing lift while a long tail with a small propeller balances the moment.
Next, there is a question: The propeller on top provides lift, the propeller at the tail balances the moment, so how does the helicopter fly forward? In fact, the helicopter’s forward motion comes from the propeller on top. When flying forward, the propeller can tilt at a certain angle, providing both vertical lift and horizontal propulsion. However, this poses a problem as the tilt angle is limited, restricting forward propulsion. Therefore, helicopters are not known for high speeds; the American Black Hawk helicopter does not exceed 300 km/h, making it a top performer among helicopters.
At this point, clever aircraft designers thought: The small propeller at the tail balances the moment, could we go for a different design approach? By installing two propellers on top, rotating in opposite directions, the forces generated would cancel each other out, eliminating the need for a tail propeller, thus reducing the size of the helicopter design. This is the design concept of the Russian Ka-52 coaxial counter-rotating propellers.
However, the Ka-52 has its issues as well; it uses flexible coaxial propellers. When executing complex maneuvers, these two layers of propellers can collide. Such collisions resulted in accidents, as seen with its predecessor, the Ka-50, where propellers collided during turbulent conditions in June 1998.
To address the collision issue between the two propeller layers, the Ka-52 had to design the propellers with more significant spacing, leading to its height, reaching 5.2 meters. Hence, although the Ka-52 appears to have a shorter tail, its increased height did not offer any space-saving benefits.
To solve the issue of moment caused by a single propeller, aside from coaxial counter-rotating propellers, there are entirely different design approaches. The most famous one is the American Chinook helicopter. The Chinook creatively uses two propellers of different sizes arranged front to back but rotating in different directions. These two propellers produce forces that counterbalance each other while providing lift and power to the helicopter. To counteract these forces, the propellers’ sizes, spacing, and power require precise design and control. The Chinook is an outstanding heavy transport helicopter, challenging for the Chinese Air Force to emulate and replicate.
In fact, the Americans are also experimenting with coaxial counter-rotating propeller designs. Take the Raider helicopter, which uses rigid coaxial counter-rotating propellers, unlike the Russian flexible coaxial propellers. This minimizes propellers colliding, a common issue with models like the Ka-52 and Ka-27, and reduces accident potential. Additionally, the closer spacing between the two propeller layers can be precisely designed.
Furthermore, American companies like Sikorsky and Boeing added a pusher propeller at the rear of the helicopter, specifically to provide power. With this design, the top coaxial propellers no longer need to tilt for forward propulsion, simplifying the overall structure.
Prior to this, Martin developed an armed helicopter for the US Army, the AH-56 Cheyenne. This helicopter used a single propeller, requiring a tail propeller at the tail to balance the moment. However, an additional pusher propeller was added at the rear, resulting in the AH-56 helicopter having two propellers at the rear. This helicopter, which first flew in the 1960s and ’70s, faced several accidents during test flights due to rotor instability, leading to the project’s termination.
The current Raider X helicopter uses rigid coaxial counter-rotating propellers, eliminating the need for an additional propeller at the rear like the AH-56 helicopter. Only a forward pusher propeller needs to be installed at the rear, providing greater power to the helicopter. With this design, the Raider X can reach speeds of up to 460 km/h, almost a 50% to 80% increase in speed over traditional helicopters.
Sikorsky and Boeing are the manufacturers of the current Black Hawk helicopter for the US military, providing 90% of the US Army’s current helicopters. The Raider X is equipped with two Honeywell HTS7500 engines, which provide 42% more power than the previous T-55 engine. During tests, the Raider X also demonstrated the operation with a single engine. Even if one engine is damaged, the Raider X can still maintain a considerably good combat state with just one engine.
This design not only significantly enhances the helicopter’s acceleration but also allows for explosive acceleration or deceleration in the air, greatly boosting the aircraft’s maneuverability.
In short, the design scheme of the Raider X, compared to traditional helicopters, offers faster speeds, almost an 80% increase, longer range, and greater maneuverability, enabling rapid acceleration and deceleration.
The design scheme of the Raider X helicopter, in any country in the world, represents an advanced and avant-garde design capable of defeating any enemy. Unfortunately, the Raider helicopter was born in the United States, and its competitor is the US Bell V-280 tiltrotor aircraft.
The first operational tiltrotor aircraft is the Osprey transport aircraft. As a large transport aircraft, it features two rotors at the ends of its wings that can rotate, and only one propeller on top. These rotors provide lift as they rotate upwards for a helicopter-like take-off. During flight, the propellers can pivot 90 degrees to face forward, enabling the aircraft to fly like a fixed-wing aircraft, combining vertical take-off and landing capabilities with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft.
The US V-280 Valor can achieve a top speed of 600 km/h, a cruise speed of 520 km/h, an impressive range of 3,900 km, and a combat radius exceeding 1,400 km, surpassing the Raider in all aspects.
The V-280 crew comprises four members, with a width of 15.4 meters and a length of 24.9 meters. Its empty weight is only 8 tons, take-off weight 14 tons, and it can carry 14 fully-armed soldiers. In terms of performance in all aspects, it surpasses the Raider X, so it is no wonder that it won the bidding competition for the US Army.
The design scheme of the Raider X helicopter, although imitated by the CCP in appearance and concept, to reach the technical level and combat reliability of the US military will still require a long journey. The future competition in aerial forces not only involves design drawings but also industrial systems, research accumulation, and combat experience. This silent competition has just begun.
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