About two months ago, Airbus unveiled the Racer, a new $217 million tech demonstrator that succeeded the company’s now-retired X3 concept aircraft. Then, on June 21, 2024, less than two months after its first flight and after a mere seven flights and about nine hours of flight testing, the Airbus Racer reached 420 km/h (nearly 261 mph), exceeding its objective of 407 km/h (253 mph).
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The Racer was developed as part of the European Research Clean Sky 2 project, designed to provide the country with cleaner air transport technologies and make it a leader in sustainable and competitive air transport.
The Racer is optimized for a cruise speed of more than 400 km/h (250 mph), which is impressive when you consider that a civilian helicopter’s cruising speed typically ranges from 110 to 160 mph—military choppers can average around 200 mph. However, the Racer wants speed but with cost-efficiency and mission performance. For example, Airbus says the Racer’s unique engine and aerodynamic optimization could realize a fuel consumption reduction of around 20% compared to current helicopters in the same weight category.
Bruno Even, Airbus Helicopters CEO, said the company pulled off such a speedy achievement because of the contributions from its 40 partners across 13 European countries.
Even says the next phase of flight testing will focus on the Racer’s eco-mode that allows the craft to turn off an engine in forward flight, reducing fuel consumption and lowering emissions. Subsequent tests will also seek to finalize the helicopter’s flight envelope.
The hybrid-electrical eco-mode system was developed with Safran Helicopter Engines and allows one of the two Aneto-1X engines to be paused while in cruise flight. The Racer also aims to be quieter or lower its “operational acoustic footprint.”
One day, the Racer, or its successors, could be ideal for emergency medical services, search and rescue operations, commercial transportation and even military and defense applications.
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