A central moment, the U.S. Army has selected Bell’s V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft to replace the iconic UH-60 Black Hawk, a staple in military aviation since the 1970s. This marks the end of a decades-long competition, the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) competition, and represents the biggest rotorcraft procurement by the Army in more than three decades.
The news comes on the evening of the Monday following the recent revelation of the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider bomber, and the move signals a huge shift in American airpower. “This is an exciting time for the U.S. Army, Bell, and Team Valor as we modernize the Army’s aviation capabilities for decades to come,” said Mitch Snyder, Bell’s president and CEO.
The FLRAA competition pitched Bell’s V-280 Valor against the Sikorsky-Boeing SB-1 Defiant-X. While the contract decision was delayed from its initial June deadline for “quality control” and “due diligence” reasons, the Army tipped the contract to Bell. The initial deal is worth $232 million over the next 19 months, with the potential to grow to $1.3 billion, working on preliminary design work and virtual prototypes rather than production work.
The advanced tiltrotor technology of Bell will change military aviation with the V-280 Valor. At 305 knots—nearly 350 miles per hour—the Valor will fly more than 100 miles per hour faster than the Black Hawk. It also has a high sling load and the capability to take 25% more cargo or 23% more people, with an impressive 800 nautical miles range—well more than double the Black Hawk.
“Designed to mass combat force on an objective and then close on the enemy as quickly as possible,” said Frank Lazzara, director of Bell’s Advanced Vertical Lift Systems, regarding the capabilities of the aircraft. Major and basic speeds and ranges are relevant for any efficient action in modern combat scenarios.
This is a tiltrotor design for the V-280, which compared to most helicopters, is complex, but it offers certain real advantages: the ability to fly at sustained high speeds and to take off and land vertically. The V-280 design is very strong and can withstand a range of field maintenance procedures since Bell has had a long and storied history in this tiltrotor platform arena, including the V-22 Osprey.
In comments provided for release in advance of the flight, Carl Coffman, vice president of Future Vertical Lift Strategy at Bell, said the company has taken steps to ensure “there is no component on the V-280 that you can’t pull with organic ground-support equipment in an austere environment today.”
The choice for the V-280 Valor has tremendous consequences for both the U.S. Army and the 28 other nations that are currently operating Black Hawks or the variants. With more than 4,000 H-60s delivered and operating across the globe, a transition to the V-280 could be forging new global military aviation standards.
While the first contract line item is for virtual prototyping, an actual prototype could start surfacing by 2025 with follow-on contracts. Offering a comment on the expedited timeline, Doug Bush, the acquisition chief for the Army, stated it accelerated by four years the award process.
Despite Bell’s win, the Sikorsky-Boeing team expressed confidence in their SB-1 Defiant X: “We remain confident DEFIANT X is the transformational aircraft the US Army requires to accomplish its complex missions today and well into the future.” The deal is currently being studied by the team to file a protest for its options.
As the U.S. Army readies to induct the V-280 Valor into its fleet, it marks a significant shift in the modernizing of the service’s aviation arsenal, ensuring state-of-the-art readiness versus the face of future combat.