U.S. Army Chooses Bell V-280 for Black Hawk Replacement

Bell is expected to deliver prototypes to the Army in 2025, with the aircraft entering the fleet within five years.

Kimberly Johnson

Tuesday, December 06, 2022 at 03:23 PM ET

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The Bell V-280 can go from a hover to a top speed of around 280 knots. [Credit: Bell]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. Army has selected Bell Textron's V-280 Valor tiltrotor as its Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA).
This decision represents the largest rotorcraft purchase for the Army in about four decades, intended to replace its aging fleet of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.
The initial contract is valued at $232 million, with a potential to reach $1.3 billion, aiming to replace approximately 2,000 Black Hawks and 1,200 Apache attack helicopters.
The V-280 Valor is a tiltrotor aircraft boasting more than twice the speed and range of current systems, combining turboprop speed with helicopter agility for various missions.

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U.S. Army has selected Bell Textron’s [NYSE: TXT] V-280 Valor tiltrotor as its Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA), the aircraft manufacturer announced. Bell is a subsidiary of Textron [stock ticker].

The decision for the aircraft slated to replace the service’s aging fleet of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters marks the largest rotorcraft buy for the Army in about four decades.