IMH 2024: Lockheed Martin to continue with X2, despite FLRAA and FARA setbacks

Despite setbacks with the US Army, Lockheed Martin will continue to develop and offer its X2 technologies to the international market. (Lockheed Martin)

Lockheed Martin is to continue developing its X2 technologies for the international market despite suffering setbacks with its offerings to the US Army.

Speaking to Janes ahead of the IQPC International Military Helicopter (IMH) 2024 conference in London running from 27 to 29 February, Jay Macklin, business development director at Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky subsidiary, said that the compound-helicopter X2 technologies developed by the company to increase the speed of rotorcraft would continue to be honed and refined despite their being rejected by the US Army for its Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) requirement, and the service cancelling its Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA).

“We are disappointed with the US Army's decisions, but we have proven the [X2] technology and we have flown it. We believe it will certainly be relevant on the future battlefield, and we are going to continue to talk about it. We do have significant international interest from [countries] that are interested in the technology – as Ukraine has shown, we can no longer cruise around the battlefield at 130 kt [the speed of a conventional helicopter in service today]; we need to be pushing the envelope, and that is precisely what we are doing [with the X2],” Macklin said ahead of the event. “We remain confident that X2 rotorcraft […] is going to provide the right solution to meet international needs.”