The US Army Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft, or FARA, developed in conjunction with the FLARAA, 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.
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.
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.
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News
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 #FARA AVX Aircraft and L3 Technologies unveiled its proposal design for the US Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program. Preliminary selection among proposals to take place in March 2020 |
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 Future Vertical Lift, or FVL, is an initiative looking at the next-generation of rotorcraft for 2040 and beyond for the U.S. military. |
