| Penetrator | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Type | Experimental attack/transport helicopter |
National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | American Aircraft Corporation/American Aircraft International (now Aerocraft R&D) |
| Status | development continued & finished, ready for test flights again |
| Number built | 1 |
| History | |
| First flight | 1991 |
Developed from | Bell UH-1B Iroquois |
The American Aircraft Penetrator, now referred as the Aerocraft Stealth Star 204 SS, was a gunship helicopter modified from the Bell UH-1B Iroquois with tandem seating for the pilots and a troop-carrying compartment. It was first designed by the American Aircraft Corporation (AAC) and was marketed by a separate company, American Aircraft International (AAI).
In 1990, a single Bell UH-1B Huey was stripped down to the engine, transmission and tail boom. A complete armored composite structure was added and the flight controls and seating were modified to a tandem layout, with pilot in front and copilot at the rear. The third and fourth weapons operators were placed in the rear portion of the fuselage firing weapons to the rear. The outer fuselage mounted stub wings, two glazed gun turrets/observation windows under each side of the engine with rear-facing 20mm gun turret under the fuselage, and two forward-facing 12.7mm turrets under the cockpit. The prototype (N3080W ex U.S. Army 63-8508) used a 1300 shp Avco Lycoming T53-L-13 turboshaft engine and had a gross take-off weight of 4280 kg.
The stated goal of the project was to convert existing Vietnam War-era UH-1 airframes to fit modern armor and weapons systems, particularly targeting third-world militaries with aging fleets. This conversion could be performed at a fraction of the cost of ordering a brand new aircraft. The Penetrator required a crew of four (pilot, forward weapons officer, and two rear-facing weapons operators) and could carry six to eight additional passengers.
The basic Penetrator was said to be air-to-air, air-to-ground and ground-to-ground combat capable, using modified technologies. It had been in development and could be seen on the Stealthstar website prior to its inactivation.
A single prototype was completed in 1991, and test flown in October of that year, but the manufacturer never won any contracts for production. The prototype aircraft was overhauled by Robert Laura and flying as of 2004.
General characteristics
Performance
Armament
