US Army to make largest procurement of helicopters in 40 years

News, US December 9, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

The U.S. Army is set to replace around 2000 Black Hawk helicopters. A U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer Bell won U.S. Army’s competition to build next-generation long-range assault aircraft.

The U.S. army asked for proposals for the design of the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) back in July 2021. The deal for the next-generation helicopter could be worth up to $1.3 billion as the U.S. seeks to replace roughly 2,000 Black Hawk utility helicopters by 2030. The next-generation vertical lift aircraft could also replace around 1200 Apache helicopters.

The FLRAA competition saw a head-to-head vie between two options. Bell V-280 Valor, a trimotor vertical lift aircraft, and the Defiant X coaxial rotor aircraft. Sikorsky and Boeing jointly designed the Defiant X. In the end, it was Bell V-280 Valor that was selected.

Bell V-280 Valor is a tiltrotor aircraft jointly produced by Textron and Lockheed Martin. It was officially unveiled in 2013 and took its first flight in 2017. On December 5, 2022, Textron’s Chief Executive Scott Donnelly announced that his company is “honored that the U.S. Army has selected the Bell V-280 Valor as its next-generation assault aircraft. We intend to honor that trust by building a truly remarkable and transformational weapon system to meet the Army’s mission requirements.”

The U.S. army had been seeking a high-speed, long-range vertical lift aircraft for a long time. The V-280 fulfills all the requirements as it is designed for a cruising speed of 520 km/h and a top speed of 556 km/h. The tiltrotor aircraft can fly at a range of 3,900 kilometers in one flight. It is highly effective during long-range combat operations and utility missions. The expected maximum takeoff weight for V-280 is about 14,000 kilograms.

*^{U.S. Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft V-280 Valor. (Image Credit: Bell Flight)}*

The V-280 has a retractable landing gear, with a V-tail configuration. The wings are made of a single section of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer composite, which helps reduce its weight and production cost. The aircraft would use a crew of four and it is capable of transporting up to 14 troops in a single trip. Dual cargo hooks can also be attached at the bottom which would give it a lift capacity to carry 4,500 kilograms, roughly the weight of an M777A2 Howitzer while flying at a speed of 280 km/h.

V-280’s fuselage is visually similar to that of the UH-60 Black Hawk medium-lift helicopter. At landing posture, the wings remain more than 7 feet from the ground, allowing soldiers to get out easily from the two 6-foot-wide side doors. Wide doors also allow gunners to have a wider view and firing range. In October 2021, Bell and Rolls Royce jointly announced that the V-280 Valor would be powered by a T64 turboshaft engine that was also used on the prototype units.