Black Hawk Replacement

The US Army Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft or FLRAA, developed in conjunction with the FARA, program aims to replace the Black Hawk helicopters. Planning began in 2016 with an analysis of alternatives or AOA which was completed by end 2018

The Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) contract award is scheduled for 2021, first flight for 2023 and initial operational capability (IOC) by 2030.

Although led by the Army, the FLRAA is defined as a multi-service program.

FLRAA Contenders

Bell V-280 Valor

19-Sep-20 - Army Experimental Test Pilots Fly V-280 Valor #Redstone
22-Jul-20 - Astronics Power Systems for Bell’ FARA and FLRAA #electric
21-Jul-20 - Rolls-Royce Engines for V-280 Valor #RollsRoyce
24-Jun-20 - Bell Proposals for Future US Army Aviation #FVL

03-Jun-20 - Thermoplastic Components Flight Tested on Bell V-280 #recycling
03-Apr-20 - Manufacturing Evolution at Bell Helicopters #manufacturing

17-Mar-20 - Bell V-280 Selected to Continue in FLRAA Competition #FLRAA
26-Dec-19 - V-280 Delivering Results Beyond Expectation

More News ...

Sikorsky SB>1 Defiant

15-Oct-20 - SB>1 Defiant Achieved 211 Knots #Defiant

09-Aug-20 - Sikorsky in the Army Modernization Program

16-Jun-20 - Defiant Reached 205 Knots #Speed

16-May-20 - SB-1 Defiant in High Speed Trials

19-Jan-20 - SB>1 Defiant Reached 100 Knots #Defiant

16-Oct-19 - SB>1 Defiant Tested at NFAC Wind Tunnel #NFAC
22-Sep-19 - Marines Starts UH/AH-1 Replacement Process #AURA
16-Apr-19 - T55 Engines Powers the SB>1 Defiant #T55

More News ...

News

SB>1 Defiant Achieved 211 Knots, 15-Oct-20 :

#Defiant The Sikorsky/Boeing SB>1 Defiant achieved a new speed milestone reaching 211 knots ~ 390 km/h for the first time

Army Experimental Test Pilots Fly V-280 Valor, 19-Sep-20 : #Redstone US Army Redstone Test Center (RTC) Experimental Test Pilots (XPs) flew the Bell V-280 Valor as part of the US Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) preparations for the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program.

Bell New Manufacturing Technology Center, 10-Aug-20 :

#manufacturing Bell unveiled its new 140,000-square-foot Manufacturing Technology Center (MTC) in Fort Worth, Texas. Innovative proving ground to test and refine technologies and processes and support Future Vertical Lift (FVL) aircraft

Sikorsky in the Army Modernization Program, 09-Aug-20 :

From infrastructure to analytics, the Raider X and Defiant helicopters, which are competing in the US Army modernization programs, are designed to reduce maintenance and improve operating time on several fronts

Astronics Power Systems for Bell’ FARA and FLRAA, 22-Jul-20 : #electric Astronics awarded contracts by Bell to develop electrical power systems based on CorePower products for FARA Bell 360 Invictus and FLRAA V-280 Valor programs

Rolls-Royce Engines for V-280 Valor, 21-Jul-20 : #RollsRoyce Rolls-Royce to provide propulsion system for the refined Bell V-280 Valor design in the US Army Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) competition. The current prototype is flying with General Electric T64-GE-419 engines

Army Searches Configurations for Future Helicopters, 14-Jul-20 :

“We have written the requirements … to allow for flexibility” , the US Army collaborating with the Industry for best systems configurations for both the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) and Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA)

Mecaer Joined Invictus Team for FARA, 29-Jun-20 : #TeamInvictus Mecaer America Inc (MAI), the Canadian branch of the Mecaer Aviation Group, will build the landing gear system for the Bell 360 Invictus prototype being produced as part of the US Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program

Bell Proposals for Future US Army Aviation, 24-Jun-20 :

#FVL Bell is ready to revolutionize U.S. Army Aviation with the V-280 Valor and 360 Invictus for the Joint Multi-Role (JMR) / Future Vertical Lift (FVL) programs

Army VIPER Lab Speeds Changes to Helicopters, 23-Jun-20 : #mechanics US Army to open a Vehicle Innovative Powertrain Experimental Research (VIPER) lab to conduct experiments on rotorcraft drivetrains as a testbed for research on helicopters transmissions

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