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 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
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
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
29-Jun-20 - Mecaer Joined Invictus Team for FARA #TeamInvictus
24-Jun-20 - Bell Proposals for Future US Army Aviation #FVL
04-Jun-20 - Bell 360 Invictus Team
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Sikorsky Raider X
11-Oct-22 - RAIDER X for US Army FARA Close to Flight Test #FARA15-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
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 #SNC Bell adds Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) to Team Invictus for work on Advanced Mission Systems |
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 #AAAA2022 The Sikorsky/Boeing SB>1 Defiant flew to Nashville, TN for the Army Aviation Association of America’s annual summit AAAA 2022 |
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 #Cargo The Sikorsky/Boeing SB>1 Defiant helicopter continues testing program with its first sling load cargo, slalom maneuvering and single-engine flights |
14-Feb-22 - Honeywell HTS7500 Engine Selected for Defiant X
#HTS7500 18-Jan-22 - Defiant in FLRAA Mission Profile
#Defiant 09-Sep-21 - Defiant X Coming Earlier than Expected #DefiantX
13-Aug-21 - Bell 360 Invictus is Taking Form #Invictus
08-Jul-21 - Future Vertical Lift at Bell Lab in Arlington Texas #FVL
26-Jun-21 - V-280 Advancing for FLRAA Requirement #FLRAA
07-May-21 - Safran Landing Gear for V-280 Valor #LandingGear
18-Apr-21 - Defiant X Competitive Demonstration #DefiantX
15-Apr-21 - S-97 Raider Visit to Redstone Arsenal
#Raider 12-Apr-21 - Bell V-280 Competitive Demonstration #FLRAA
30-Mar-21 - OPV Black Hawk with Supervised Autonomy
#drones 25-Jan-21 - Sikorsky-Boeing Announced Defiant X
#DefiantX 14-Jan-21 - Bell V-280 Agility Testing
#agility 21-Dec-20 - 200 Flight Hours for Bell V-280 Valor #FLRAA
15-Oct-20 - SB>1 Defiant Achieved 211 Knots
#Defiant 19-Sep-20 - Army Experimental Test Pilots Fly V-280 Valor #Redstone
10-Aug-20 - Bell New Manufacturing Technology Center
#manufacturing 09-Aug-20 - Sikorsky in the Army Modernization Program
22-Jul-20 - Astronics Power Systems for Bell’ FARA and FLRAA #electric
21-Jul-20 - Rolls-Royce Engines for V-280 Valor #RollsRoyce
14-Jul-20 - Army Searches Configurations for Future Helicopters
29-Jun-20 - Mecaer Joined Invictus Team for FARA #TeamInvictus
24-Jun-20 - Bell Proposals for Future US Army Aviation
#FVL 23-Jun-20 - Army VIPER Lab Speeds Changes to Helicopters #mechanics
16-Jun-20 - Defiant Reached 205 Knots
#Speed 04-Jun-20 - Bell 360 Invictus Team
28-May-20 - Triumph to Supply Bell 360 Subsystems #Triumph
16-May-20 - SB-1 Defiant in High Speed Trials
31-Mar-20 - Bell 360 Selected to Continue in FARA Competition #FARA
17-Mar-20 - Bell V-280 Selected to Continue in FLRAA Competition #FLRAA
03-Mar-20 - Boeing Unveils US Army FARA Proposal
#BoeingFARA 19-Jan-20 - SB>1 Defiant Reached 100 Knots
#Defiant 28-Oct-19 - Laying the Foundation for Army Aviation #ArmyAviation
18-Oct-19 - AVX / L3Harris FARA Helicopter at AUSA 2019
#FARA 16-Oct-19 - Honeywell to Upgrade Chinook’ T55 Engines #T55
14-Oct-19 - Sikorsky Unveils Raider X for US Army FARA
#RaiderX 02-Oct-19 - Bell 360 Invictus Announced for US Army FARA #Invictus
27-Sep-19 - Bell Teaming with Collins for US Army FARA #FARA
22-Sep-19 - Marines Starts UH/AH-1 Replacement Process #AURA
03-Jul-19 - Karem Announced FARA Competitive Prototype Team #Karem
29-May-19 - Higher Speed for Future US Army Tilt-Rotor
#HighSpeed 19-May-19 - Boeing Unveil High Speed Apache #Apache
18-Apr-19 - AVX/L3 Unveiled its FARA Design
#FARA 16-Apr-19 - Collins Aerospace in Development of Future Vertical Lift #JointMultiRole
06-Apr-19 - US Army Could Select Future Aircraft by 2020 #FARA
24-Oct-18 - US Army Future Vertical Lift Projects #FutureLift
30-Oct-15 - US Army Discuss Future Vertical Lift Architecture
