A key aspect of the future of military combat is in the hands of skilled Chester County designers and  manufacturers.  Sikorsky Aircraft, which operates a location at the Chester County Airport in Coatesville, is co-leading the development of the next-generation U.S. Army rotorcraft fleet with Boeing, and fellow Chester County aerospace supplier Triumph Group of Berwyn is building the landing gear for the helicopter chassis, according to a new Aviation Week report.

When complete and flown for the first time in 2017, the SB-1 Defiant demo aircraft is expected to showcase technologies from 48 suppliers that would significantly improve on the Army’s existing Black Hawk, Apache, Chinook and Kiowa helicopters.

The $500 million Joint Multi-Role program is a precursor to the development of the Future Vertical Lift rotorcraft fleet, tentatively planned for deployment between 2025 and 2035.

“Critical design review for the Defiant demonstrator is scheduled for the latter part of this year, with the system integration lab to be operational in the first part of next year,” Sikorsky JMR Program Director Doug Shidler said in the article. “‘Mid next year we will start final assembly,’ he says. First flight is planned by the end of fiscal 2017.”

Read much more about the SB-1 Defiant and what companies are making which of its many components in Aviation Week here.