The cause of the crash of a US Army Aviation Applied Technology Directorate-owned Boeing A160T Hummingbird in July is unknown pending the outcome of the investigation, says Boeing.
"It went into autorotation," says Boeing Military Aircraft director of unmanned airborne systems Vic Sweberg. "It was pretty much a complete loss."
Source: Flight International
The flight, which incorporated nearly two-thirds of the stealth bomber fleet, was part of annual drills meant to test the US Air Force’s ability to generate sorties with Washington’s only nuclear-capable bomber capable of penetrating modern air defences.
The US Navy (USN) has been in discussions with Sierra Nevada about adding the company to the service’s Blue Water Maritime Logistics Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) programme.
Airbus Helicopters has increased the number of H160M Guepard prototypes it intends to build, with final assembly of the first of three examples set to begin shortly.
