The US Army Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft, or FARA, developed in conjunction with the FLRAA, will likely serve as a close combat conductor for advanced unmanned aerial systems as well as provide support to troops on the ground.
In 2016 the Army retired its last recon helicopter, the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, without replacement. The mission is currently being filled by AH-64E Apache gunships teamed with RQ-7 Shadow drones. FARA, was announced, will replace half of the Apache fleet particularly the older D variant.
On April 23 2019, the US Army awarded $3.9B contracts to 5 pre-selected teams to design the new aircraft: AVX/L3 ($732M), Bell ($790M, which apparently will not offer a tilt-rotor), Boeing ($772M), Sikorsky ($938M) and Karem Aircraft ($738M). Two vendors are going to be selected in March 2020 and a winner expected to be chosen for final development in 2023.
On May 2019, Boeing unveiled its High Speed Apache which was followed in October by the Bell 360 Invictus and Sikorsky Raider X proposals
On March 2020, after the initial design and risk assessment, Bell 360 Invictus and Sikorsky Raider X proposals were both selected and awarded contracts for detailed design, build, and test of prototypes.
The FARA is powered by GE T901 engines
In February 2024, the FARA program was cancelled.
In 2016 the Army retired its last recon helicopter, the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, without replacement. The mission is currently being filled by AH-64E Apache gunships teamed with RQ-7 Shadow drones. FARA, was announced, will replace half of the Apache fleet particularly the older D variant.
On April 23 2019, the US Army awarded $3.9B contracts to 5 pre-selected teams to design the new aircraft: AVX/L3 ($732M), Bell ($790M, which apparently will not offer a tilt-rotor), Boeing ($772M), Sikorsky ($938M) and Karem Aircraft ($738M). Two vendors are going to be selected in March 2020 and a winner expected to be chosen for final development in 2023.
On May 2019, Boeing unveiled its High Speed Apache which was followed in October by the Bell 360 Invictus and Sikorsky Raider X proposals
On March 2020, after the initial design and risk assessment, Bell 360 Invictus and Sikorsky Raider X proposals were both selected and awarded contracts for detailed design, build, and test of prototypes.
The FARA is powered by GE T901 engines
In February 2024, the FARA program was cancelled.
FARA Contenders
AVX / L3
Karem
Established 2004, Karem Aircraft participated in several government funded programs such as DARPA's VTOL X-Plane (VXP) DoD's Joint Heavy Lift (JHL) and Joint Future Theater Lift (JFTL). Own funded initiatives underway by Karem includes the AeroTrain and AeroCommuter Optimum Speed Tiltrotors for passenger transportation.
Bell 360 Invictus
11-Feb-24 - US Army Announces FARA Program Cancellation #FARA21-Nov-23 - First Installation of T901 Engine on Bell Invictus #T901
24-Oct-23 - Bell Receives First T901 Engine for FARA Bell 360 Invictus #FARA
03-May-22 - SNC Joins Team Invictus #SNC
07-Oct-21 - Bell Teams with CAE for FLRAA and FARA Training #FVL
13-Aug-21 - Bell 360 Invictus is Taking Form #Invictus
08-Jul-21 - Future Vertical Lift at Bell Lab in Arlington Texas #FVL
22-Jul-20 - Astronics Power Systems for Bell’ FARA and FLRAA #electric
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Sikorsky Raider X
11-Feb-24 - US Army Announces FARA Program Cancellation #FARA26-Oct-23 - Sikorsky Begins Installation of T901 in Raider X #RaiderX
11-Oct-22 - RAIDER X for US Army FARA Close to Flight Test #FARA
15-Apr-21 - S-97 Raider Visit to Redstone Arsenal #Raider
09-Aug-20 - Sikorsky in the Army Modernization Program
14-Oct-19 - Sikorsky Unveils Raider X for US Army FARA #RaiderX
News
Bell Weapon Systems Integration Lab for FLRAA
11-Mar-24 - Bell announced Grand Opening of its Weapon System’s Integration Lab (WSIL) in Arlington, Texas for integration and test of a next generation fly-by-wire tiltrotor and mission systems using a modular open systems approach (MOSA) for the US Army’s Future Long- Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) #FLRAA
US Army Announces FARA Program Cancellation
11-Feb-24 - The US Army announced cancellation of the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program launched in 2018. It has opted to order more UH-60M Black Hawks, put the CH-47F Block II Chinook into production, and focus on developing new unmanned systems and space-based assets #FARA
First Installation of T901 Engine on Bell Invictus
21-Nov-23 - Bell’s Flight Research Center in Arlington, Texas installed the first GE T901 Improved Turbine Engine (ITEP) in its Future Attack and Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) contender, the Bell 360 Invictus #T901
Sikorsky Begins Installation of T901 in Raider X
26-Oct-23 - Sikorsky begins Installation of the new GE Aviation T901 Improved Turbine Engine (ITEP) into the Raider X prototype designed for the US Army Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program #RaiderX
Bell Receives First T901 Engine for FARA Bell 360 Invictus
24-Oct-23 - The US Army has officially delivered the GE Aerospace’s T901 Improved Turbine Engine (ITEP) to Bell for its submission for the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program #FARA
First GE T901 Engines for US Army FARA Prototype
16-Oct-23 - First two GE Aerospace T901 engines accepted by US Army in support of Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP) for the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) competitive prototype #FARA
Safran to Develop Landing Gear for Bell V-280 Valor
30-Sep-23 - Safran to develop the landing gear system for Bell’s tiltrotor, the US Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) #FLRAA
GE Aerospace Systems for V-280 Valor
09-Sep-23 - Bell selected GE Aerospace to develop a Common Open Architecture Digital Backbone (COADB), Voice and Data Recorder, and the Health Awareness System (HAS) for the Bell V-280 Valor #recorder
GAO Denies Sikorsky-Boeing FLRAA Protest
08-Apr-23 - The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) rejected the protest from Sikorsky regarding the US Army selecting the Bell V-280 Valor as the winner of the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) competition to replace the Black Hawk #FLRAA
