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.

In December 2022, the Bell V-280 was selected as the FLRAA winner

FLRAA Contenders

Bell V-280 Valor

30-Sep-23 - Safran to Develop Landing Gear for Bell V-280 Valor #FLRAA
09-Sep-23 - GE Aerospace Systems for V-280 Valor #recorder
07-Oct-21 - Bell Teams with CAE for FLRAA and FARA Training #FVL
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
12-Apr-21 - Bell V-280 Competitive Demonstration #FLRAA
14-Jan-21 - Bell V-280 Agility Testing #agility

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Sikorsky Defiant X

08-Apr-23 - GAO Denies Sikorsky-Boeing FLRAA Protest #FLRAA
30-Dec-22 - Lockheed Martin and Boeing Protest FLRAA Decision #FLRAA
06-Dec-22 - Bell V-280 Won US Army FLRAA Helicopter Contract #FLRAA
26-Apr-22 - Honeywell APU for Defiant X #APU
04-Apr-22 - Perigon Computer for Defiant X #Perigon
04-Apr-22 - Sikorsky High-Tech Manufacturing for Raider X #RaiderX
01-Apr-22 - Six Companies Joins Team Defiant X #DefiantX
14-Feb-22 - Honeywell HTS7500 Engine Selected for Defiant X #HTS7500

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News

FLRAA Officially Named MV-75 Cheyenne II

15-Apr-26 - Following U.S. Army naming traditions, the FLRAA MV-75 has been designated “Cheyenne II,” honoring the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. #CheyenneII

First MV-75 Display at US Army’s 250th Celebration

27-Jun-25 - Bell displayed the first MV-75 prototype at the 250th Army Birthday celebration on the National Mall #MV75

Army Accepts First MV-75 FLRAA Virtual Prototype

25-Jun-25 - Bell delivered to the US Army Redstone Arsenal in Alabama the first MV-75 Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) virtual prototype (VP) #MV75

Army Designates FLRAA as the MV-75

30-May-25 - The US Army officially designated the MV-75 as the mission design series for its Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA), which is based on the Bell V-280 Valor. The initial prototype will carry the designation YMV-75A #FLRAA

US Army FLRAA to be Manufactured at Denton County, Texas

17-Dec-24 - A new 447,000 sq.ft. factory in the Denton County, region of Fort Worth, Texas, will be the manufacturing site for the U.S. Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) #FLRAA

Rolls-Royce AE 1107F Engines for the US Army FLRAA

15-Oct-24 - Rolls-Royce will provide the AE 1107F engines to power the US Army Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) winner based on the Bell V-280 Valor tilt-rotor #RollsRoyce

US Army Bell FLRAA Approved Milestone B

05-Aug-24 - US Army and Bell’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) gets Milestone B approval and enter next phase of Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) #FLRAA

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

26-Oct-23	Sikorsky Begins Installation of T901 in Raider X #RaiderX
24-Oct-23	Bell Receives First T901 Engine for FARA Bell 360 Invictus #FARA
16-Oct-23	First GE T901 Engines for US Army FARA Prototype #FARA
30-Sep-23	Safran to Develop Landing Gear for Bell V-280 Valor #FLRAA
09-Sep-23	GE Aerospace Systems for V-280 Valor #recorder
08-Apr-23	GAO Denies Sikorsky-Boeing FLRAA Protest #FLRAA
30-Dec-22	Lockheed Martin and Boeing Protest FLRAA Decision #FLRAA
06-Dec-22	Bell V-280 Won US Army FLRAA Helicopter Contract #FLRAA
11-Oct-22	RAIDER X for US Army FARA Close to Flight Test #FARA
03-May-22	SNC Joins Team Invictus #SNC
26-Apr-22	Honeywell APU for Defiant X #APU
04-Apr-22	Perigon Computer for Defiant X #Perigon
02-Apr-22	Long Endurance Flight for SB>1 Defiant #AAAA2022
01-Apr-22	Six Companies Joins Team Defiant X #DefiantX
24-Mar-22	GE Begins Testing on First T901 Engine #T901
18-Feb-22	Defiant in Sling Load and Single-Engine Flights #Cargo
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 #future
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 #Bell360
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