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), marking its largest rotorcraft purchase in approximately 40 years.
This program aims to replace the Army's aging fleet of UH-60 Black Hawk and some Apache attack helicopters, with an initial contract valued at $232 million and potential options up to $1.3 billion.
The V-280 Valor, a tiltrotor aircraft, offers more than double the speed and range of current systems, with prototypes expected by 2025 and fleet entry within five years.

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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.