The Sikorsky Cypher and Cypher II are types of

unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controlle ...

s developed by

Sikorsky Aircraft Sikorsky Aircraft is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. It was established by aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky in 1923 and was among the first companies to manufacture helicopters for civilian and military use. P ...

. They are vertical takeoff and landing

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines. ...

which use two opposing

rotor Rotor may refer to: Science and technology Engineering *Rotor (electric), the non-stationary part of an alternator or electric motor, operating with a stationary element so called the stator *Helicopter rotor, the rotary wing(s) of a rotorcraft ...

s enclosed in a circular shroud for propulsion.

Design and development

Cypher

In the late 1980s, Sikorsky Aircraft flew a small UAV named "Cypher", with coaxial rotors inside a

torus In geometry, a torus (plural tori, colloquially donut or doughnut) is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space about an axis that is coplanar with the circle. If the axis of revolution does not ...

-shaped airframe. The torus shroud improved handling safety and helped increase lift. The first proof-of-concept Cypher was 1.75 meters (5.75 feet) in diameter and 55 centimeters (1.8 feet) tall, weighed 20 kilograms (43 pounds), and was first flown in the summer of 1988. This design was powered by a four-stroke, 2.85 kW (3.8 hp) engine and was mounted on a truck for forward-flight tests. It led to a true flight prototype Cypher that weighed 110 kilograms (240 pounds), had a diameter of 1.9 meters (6.2 feet) and was powered by a compact, 40 kW (53 hp)

Wankel engine The Wankel engine (, ) is a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. It was invented by German engineer Felix Wankel, and designed by German engineer Hanns-Dieter Paschke. ...

. After an initial free flight in 1993, the Cypher prototype was used in flight tests and demonstrations through most of the 1990s, ultimately leading to a next-generation design, the Cypher II, which was a competitor in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

VT-UAV competition. The single prototype first flew in April

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

and flew untethered in 1993. Since then, over 550 demonstration flights have been made for the US government. The Cypher can carry a sensor package on struts above its hull, or can transport loads weighing up to 50 lb (23 kg).

Cypher II

Two Cypher II prototypes have been built for the

US Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

, which calls it "Dragon Warrior". The Cypher II is similar in size to its predecessor, but has a pusher propeller in addition to its rotor and can be fitted with wings for long-range reconnaissance missions. In its winged configuration, the Cypher II has a range of over 185 kilometers (115 miles) and a top speed of 230 km/h (145 mph). It is unclear if the Cypher will enter production.

Specifications (Cypher)

References

This article contains material that originally came from the web articl
''Unmanned Aerial Vehicles''
by Greg Goebel, which exists in the Public Domain.

External links

{{Sikorsky Aircraft Flying saucers United States military helicopters

Cypher Cypher is an alternative spelling for cipher. Cypher may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Cypher (French Group), a Goa trance music group * Cypher (band), an Australian instrumental band * ''Cypher'' (film), a 2002 film * ''Cypher'' ( ...