Calidus B-350

Last updated
B-350
Role Attack aircraft
National origin United Arab Emirates
Manufacturer Calidus
StatusUnder development

The Calidus B-350 is an Emirati turboprop attack aircraft under development by Calidus.

Contents

Design and development

The existence of the B-350 was first made public during the 2021 Dubai Airshow, where a full-scale mock-up of the aircraft was unveiled. [1] [2] The aircraft is a two-seat design to be powered by a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127 turboprop engine. Suspended armament will be carried on twelve underwing hardpoints. [1] The aircraft's retractable tricycle landing gear will be built by the Czech company Charvát AXL. [3]

Due to its large size compared to similar aircraft, comparisons have been drawn between the B-350 and the Douglas A-1 Skyraider. [1] [3]

Specifications (B-350, estimated)

Data from [4]

General characteristics

Armament

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related Research Articles

Pratt & Whitney Aircraft engine manufacturer

Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of Raytheon Technologies. Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut. As one of the "big three" aero-engine manufacturers, it competes with General Electric and Rolls-Royce, although it has also formed joint ventures with both of these companies. In addition to aircraft engines, Pratt & Whitney manufactures gas turbines for industrial and power generation, and marine turbines. In 2017, the company reported that in 2014 they had 38,737 employees supporting more than 11,000 customers in 180 countries around the world. In 2013, Pratt & Whitney's revenue totaled $14.5 billion.

Douglas DC-3 Airliner and military transport aircraft family

The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version of the Douglas DC-2. It is a low-wing metal monoplane with conventional landing gear, powered by two radial piston engines of 1,000–1,200 hp (750–890 kW). The DC-3 has a cruising speed of 207 mph (333 km/h), a capacity of 21 to 32 passengers or 6,000 lbs (2,700 kg) of cargo, and a range of 1,500 mi (2,400 km), and can operate from short runways.

ATR 72 Regional turboprop Airliner Series

The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR, a joint venture formed by French aerospace company Aérospatiale and Italian aviation conglomerate Aeritalia. The number "72" in its name is derived from the aircraft's standard seating configuration in a passenger-carrying configuration, which could seat 72–78 passengers in a single-class arrangement.

Pratt & Whitney PW4000 High-bypass turbofan aircraft engine

The Pratt & Whitney PW4000 is a family of dual-spool, axial-flow, high-bypass turbofan aircraft engines produced by Pratt & Whitney as the successor to the JT9D. It was first run in April 1984, was FAA certified in July 1986, and was introduced in June 1987. With thrust ranging from 50,000 to 99,040 lbf, it is used on many wide-body aircraft.

Martin AM Mauler 1944 attack aircraft family by the Glenn L. Martin Company

The Martin AM Mauler was a single-seat carrier-based attack aircraft built for the United States Navy. Designed during World War II, the Mauler encountered development delays and did not enter service until 1948 in small numbers. The aircraft proved troublesome and remained in frontline service only until 1950, when the Navy switched to the smaller and simpler Douglas AD Skyraider. Maulers remained in reserve squadrons until 1953. A few were built as AM-1Q electronic-warfare aircraft with an additional crewman in the fuselage.

Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 Turboprop aircraft engine family by Pratt & Whitney Canada

The Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 is a turboprop aircraft engine produced by Pratt & Whitney Canada. Its design was started in 1958, it first ran in February 1960, first flew on 30 May 1961, entered service in 1964 and has been continuously updated since. It consists of two basic sections: a gas generator with accessory gearbox and a free power turbine with reduction gearbox, and is often seemingly mounted backwards in an aircraft in so far as the intake is at the rear and the exhaust at the front. Many variants of the PT6 have been produced, not only as turboprops but also as turboshaft engines for helicopters, land vehicles, hovercraft, and boats; as auxiliary power units; and for industrial uses. By November 2015, 51,000 had been produced, had logged 400 million flight hours from 1963 to 2016. It is known for its reliability with an in-flight shutdown rate of 1 per 651,126 hours in 2016. The PT6A covers the power range between 580 and 1,940 shp while the PT6B/C are turboshaft variants for helicopters.

De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Regional turboprop airliner family by De Havilland Canada, formerly Bombardier

The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was later bought by Boeing in 1988, then by Bombardier in 1992; then by Longview Aviation Capital in 2019, reviving the de Havilland Canada brand. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW100s, it was developed from the Dash 7 with improved cruise performance and lower operational costs, but without STOL performance. Three sizes were offered: initially the 37–40 seat -100 until 2005 and the more powerful -200 from 1995, the stretched 50–56 seats -300 from 1989, both until 2009, and the 68–90 seats -400 from 1999, still in production. The QSeries are post-1997 variants fitted with active noise control systems.

Pratt & Whitney Canada

Pratt & Whitney Canada is a Canada-based aircraft engine manufacturer. PWC's headquarters are in Longueuil, Quebec, just outside Montreal. It is a division of the larger US-based Pratt & Whitney (P&W), itself a business unit of Raytheon Technologies Corporation. United Technologies has given PWC a world mandate for small and medium aircraft engines while P&W's US operations develop and manufacture larger engines.

Pratt & Whitney Canada PW100 Aircraft engine family

The Pratt & Whitney Canada PW100 aircraft engine family is a series of 1,800 to 5,000 shaft horsepower turboprops manufactured by Pratt & Whitney Canada. The engine was first introduced as a technology demonstrator in 1977. The PW100 was first tested in March 1981, made its initial flight in February 1982 on a Vickers Viscount testbed aircraft, and then entered service in 1984. Pratt & Whitney Canada dominates the turboprops market with 89% of the turboprop regional airliner installed base in 2016, leading GE Aviation and Allison Engine Company.

Douglas A2D Skyshark US prototype carrier-based attack aircraft

The Douglas A2D Skyshark was an American turboprop-powered attack aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company for the United States Navy. The program was substantially delayed by engine reliability problems, and was canceled because more promising jet attack aircraft had entered development and the smaller escort carriers the A2D was intended to utilize were being phased out.

Ayres Thrush American agricultural aircraft

The Ayres Thrush, formerly the Snow S-2, Aero Commander Ag Commander, and Rockwell Thrush Commander, is an American agricultural aircraft produced by Ayres Corporation and more recently by Thrush Aircraft. It is one of the most successful and long-lived agricultural application aircraft types in the world, with almost 2,000 sold since the first example flew 65 years ago. Typical of agricultural aircraft, it is a single-seat monoplane of conventional taildragger configuration. Originally powered by a radial piston engine, most examples produced since the 1980s have been turboprop-powered.

Fokker 50 Regional airliner by Fokker

The Fokker 50 is a turboprop-powered airliner, designed as an improved version of the successful Fokker F27 Friendship. The Fokker 60 is a stretched freighter version of the Fokker 50. Both aircraft were manufactured and supported by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker.

PZL-130 Orlik Trainer aircraft

The PZL 130 Orlik is a Polish turboprop, single engine, two seat trainer aircraft.

MD Helicopters MD Explorer

The MD Helicopters MD Explorer is a light twin utility helicopter. Designed in the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems, it is currently produced by MD Helicopters. There have been two models, the original MD 900, and its successor, the MD 902.

Xian MA600 Regional airliner by Xian

The Xian MA600 is an improved version of the Xian MA60 manufactured by the Xi'an Aircraft Industry Corporation under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).

The Xian MA700 is a twin-engine, medium-range turboprop airliner currently under development by Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).

Pratt & Whitney/Allison 578-DX

The Pratt & Whitney/Allison 578-DX was an experimental aircraft engine, a hybrid between a turbofan and a turboprop known as a propfan. The engine was designed in the 1980s to power proposed propfan aircraft such as the Boeing 7J7 and the MD-91 and MD-92 derivatives of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80. As of 2019, it is still one of only four different contra-rotating propfan engines to have flown in service or in flight testing.

UTVA Kobac Type of aircraft

The UTVA Kobac is a prototype light military trainer aircraft in development by UTVA. It is a single-engine, low-wing tandem-seat turboprop training aircraft with a metal airframe. The aircraft will be capable of higher basic training functions including aerobatics, instrument, tactical flying and it provides an easy transition to jet trainer at higher training levels. And also will be capable of performing close air support, counterinsurgency (COIN), and reconnaissance missions. Kobac is Serbian for sparrowhawk.

Calidus B-250

The Calidus B-250 is a low-wing, tandem-seat, turboprop, light attack aircraft with counter-insurgency capability. Its structure is constructed entirely of carbon fiber, thus making it much lighter than its competitors. It has 7 hard points for placing weapons as well as EO / IR. It has Pro Line Fusion II avionics systems supplied by the American company Rockwell Collins.

Pratt & Whitney XT57

The Pratt & Whitney XT57 was an axial-flow turboprop engine developed by Pratt & Whitney in the mid-1950s. The XT57 was developed from the Pratt & Whitney J57 turbojet.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Dubai Airshow 2021: Calidus showcases B-350 'light attack' aircraft". Janes.com. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  2. Hoyle, Craig; Dubai2021-11-14T06:21:00+00:00. "Calidus unveils heavily armed B-350 turboprop". Flight Global. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  3. 1 2 Newdick, Thomas. "Giant Turboprop Attack Plane Reminiscent Of The A-1 Skyraider Unveiled At Dubai Airshow". The Drive. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  4. Donald, David. "Calidus Unveils Giant Attack Aircraft". Aviation International News. Retrieved 2021-11-22.