To achieve both stealth and agility, the Comanche was crafted from cutting-edge materials, complex avionics, and a demanding aerodynamic profile—leading to massive cost overruns.
The Boeing-Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche was one of the more hyped, and fascinating, weapons programs in recent history. Billed as the future crown jewel of US Army aviation, the Comanche was to be an ultra-stealthy and highly-maneuverable scout and light attack helicopter. A product of the late Cold War, the Comanche was to replace the aging (non-stealth) Bell OH-58 Kiowa, offering a formidable complement to the heavier Boeing AH-64 Apache.
Had the Comanche come off as planned, Army commanders would have used the stealth helicopter to slip behind enemy lines undetected, locate tanks and artillery, share targeting data with Apaches and ground forces, and when appropriate, strike with precision weapons. Essentially, the Comanche was to serve as the eyes and ears of the Army in the places other helicopters, nor troops, would dare venture. Unfortunately, the project was also wildly expensive, and after it failed to meet its goals, the Army pulled the plug—ending an experiment with one of America’s most interesting rotorcraft.
The RAH-66 Comanche’s Specifications
- Year Introduced: Never introduced (first flight 1996, program cancelled 2004)
- Number Built: 2 (prototypes only)
- Length: 47 ft (14.28 m)
- Height: 11 ft 10 in (3.61 m)
- Rotor Diameter (main): 40 ft (12.19 m)
- Weight: ~8,690 lb (3,940 kg) empty; ~17,000 lb (7,711 kg) MTOW
- Engines: Two LHTEC T800 turboshafts (~1,563 shp each)
- Top Speed: ~201 mph (324 km/h; 175 kn)
- Range: ~1,256 nmi (2,326 km; ~1,450 mi) with auxiliary tanks
- Service Ceiling: ~15,000 ft (4,600 m)
- Loadout: Six AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, or mix of Stinger AAMs; 20 mm XM301 Gatling gun in nose turret; optional external stores on stub wings
- Aircrew: 2 (pilot + co-pilot/gunner)
The RAH-66 Comanche’s Design Was Too Ambitious
The function the Comanche was built to perform required demanding specifications. The helicopter needed to be stealthy, which in itself was a tall order; even today, nearly three decades after the Comanche’s first flight, no widely operational stealth helicopter exists. To achieve stealth performance, the Comanche featured radar-absorbent shaping crafted from composite construction methods. On the inside, the Comanche featured advanced avionics and a digital cockpit offering sensor fusion that would allow for seamless integration with a wider network of Army units. And the Comanche would need to fly; close to the earth, beneath radar, nimble and agile—yet, with enough power to haul Hellfire missiles and a 20mm cannon. The Comanche was to walk a fine line between reconnaissance and attack modes and needed a design that could perform both functions viably.
The concept proved too ambitious, and the Comanche never made it into service, although it spent over two decades in development. Ultimately, the program was canceled in 2004—but not before the Pentagon had sunk $7 billion dollars into the project. And despite that 10-figure investment, only two prototypes were ever built, marking the Comanche program as a massive failure and a costly lesson in the pitfalls of next-generation weapons development.
Why Didn’t the Army Like the Comanche?
Timing was a key factor in the Comanche’s demise. When the Comanche was first conjured, the United States was engaged in the cold war against the Soviet Union. The Comanche was to be an asset in a conventional war against a great power—where a stealth helicopter could penetrate enemy formations. But the Cold War ended before the Comanche was operational, making its primary purpose irrelevant. Instead, the US had shifted into a post-Cold War unipolarity “world police” posture, fighting small-scale conflicts in Somalia, the Balkans, the Middle East, and Afghanistan. America’s various adversaries in those conflicts did not have advanced radars, so the Army shifted its focus away from the stealth helicopter towards reconnaissance drones and more versatile helicopter platforms.
The cost and complexity of the Comanche program didn’t help. To achieve the requisite combination of stealth and agility, the Comanche was crafted from cutting-edge materials, complex avionics, and a demanding aerodynamic profile. Each different requirement caused budget overruns and production delays. The cost per unit estimate of the program skyrocketed. And as the viability of drones improved in the early 2000s, offering the Army an unmanned option that could provide cost-effective and perpetual surveillance without risking a pilot’s life, the Comanche seemed highly unnecessary.
About the Author: Harrison Kass
Harrison Kass is a senior defense and national security writer at The National Interest. Kass is an attorney and former political candidate who joined the US Air Force as a pilot trainee before being medically discharged. He focuses on military strategy, aerospace, and global security affairs. He holds a JD from the University of Oregon and a master’s in Global Journalism and International Relations from NYU.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
