as in rotorcraft
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Recent Examples of rotary-wing aircraft
New long-range helicopter munition The LRAM effort aims to give Marine rotary-wing aircraft the ability to strike targets at far greater distances than current weapons allow.
—
Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 29 Dec. 2025
Byrne said that a fixed- or rotary-wing aircraft could operate as a drone to a larger, passively buoyant platform.
—Leonard David, Space.com, 8 Feb. 2025
Cal Fire has the largest civil aerial firefighting fleet in the world, including more than 60 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft.
—Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2023
Equipped with these sophisticated flight controllers, the fly-by-wire BlackFly is similar in that regard to the hobbyist drones that rely on processors and clever algorithms to avoid the tricky manipulations of sticks, levers, and pedals required to fly a traditional fixed- or rotary-wing aircraft.
—IEEE Spectrum, 29 Dec. 2022
The Stinger, in service with more than 18 countries and the US armed forces, has scored more than 270 hits against fixed and rotary-wing aircraft.
—Michael Goldstein, Forbes, 18 Jan. 2022
That facility had 150 workers who made sheet metal components and assemblies for fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.
—Allie Morris, Dallas News, 19 Feb. 2020
Its fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft will be based out of Barbados and Guadeloupe respectively.
—Elizabeth Koh, miamiherald, 23 Sep. 2017
Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 29 Dec. 2025
Byrne said that a fixed- or rotary-wing aircraft could operate as a drone to a larger, passively buoyant platform.
—Leonard David, Space.com, 8 Feb. 2025
Cal Fire has the largest civil aerial firefighting fleet in the world, including more than 60 fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft.
—Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2023
Equipped with these sophisticated flight controllers, the fly-by-wire BlackFly is similar in that regard to the hobbyist drones that rely on processors and clever algorithms to avoid the tricky manipulations of sticks, levers, and pedals required to fly a traditional fixed- or rotary-wing aircraft.
—IEEE Spectrum, 29 Dec. 2022
The Stinger, in service with more than 18 countries and the US armed forces, has scored more than 270 hits against fixed and rotary-wing aircraft.
—Michael Goldstein, Forbes, 18 Jan. 2022
That facility had 150 workers who made sheet metal components and assemblies for fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.
—Allie Morris, Dallas News, 19 Feb. 2020
Its fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft will be based out of Barbados and Guadeloupe respectively.
—Elizabeth Koh, miamiherald, 23 Sep. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rotary-wing aircraft
Noun
-
The most recent test campaign, captured in our image of the day, focused on software called Extended Robust Aerial Autonomy, designed to help future Mars rotorcraft navigate somewhat featureless terrain, which was the very challenge that caused problems for Ingenuity during its final flights.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
15 Dec. 2025
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Not the least of these is that your average rotorcraft can't manage to lift a payload that weighs more than itself.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
26 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The event was put on hold for several minutes as medical professionals tended to Vonn and waited for a helicopter to carry her off the mountain.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
8 Feb. 2026
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Prince William once landed a helicopter on the grounds.—
Bailey Bujnosek,
InStyle,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Video captured from a rescue chopper hovering above Jamaica Bay showed the NYPD’s frogmen in action, with multiple divers crawling across the ice and plunging into the frigid waters to attach the victims to tethers, before the helicopters airlifted them to safety.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
7 Feb. 2026
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An aerial view from a chopper showed mostly footpaths with limited access by road for vehicles.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rotary-wing aircraft.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rotary-wing%20aircraft. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
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