Apr 072024
Artwork circa 1983 depicting a one-man combat tiltrotor tearing up a column of Soviet armor. At this time the Light Helicopter – eXperimental program included the possibility of tiltrotors as well as conventional choppers. In the end the RAH-66 won… and was then cancelled before series production. Tiltrotors showed promise, but also promised to be incredibly challenging for a single pilot to manage.
I think one of the most dubious wannabe contenders was the Phalanx Corp concept, not sure if there was a model number attached to the half-serious proposal but I do know it was reported by an Army program officer to be a consideration. It wasn’t the Phalanx Dragonfly but some notional derivative.