Latest news with #FLRAA
Axios
21-05-2025
- Business
- Axios
Screaming Eagles will be first to get U.S. Army's MV-75
The 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, will be the first to receive the MV-75 Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft. Why it matters: The Bell Textron-made tiltrotor will replace a significant portion of the Black Hawk helicopter fleet. The yearslong FLRAA competition pitted some of the biggest names in defense against each other. Driving the news: Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James Mingus revealed the plan at the Army Aviation Association of America's conference in Tennessee. "This aircraft changes how we move forces. More importantly, it changes the geometry of ground combat," he said. "And we're not waiting for a distant out-year to make this thing real." "The 101st flies into real-world contested environments, across wide terrain, often without the luxury of fixed support infrastructure. They need speed, endurance, and reliability." Catch up quick: Bell bested a Sikorsky-Boeing team in 2022. The Government Accountability Office denied a contract protest in 2023. Fun fact: The MV-75 designation refers to its multi-mission assignments (air assault, medical evacuation and resupply), its vertical-takeoff-and-landing capabilities and the establishment of the Army in 1775.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Textron Inc. (TXT) Subsidiary Bell Demonstrates FLRAA Virtual Prototype to Army
Bell, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT), on May 20, announced that it had joined the U.S. Army Program Manager FLRAA office to support the demonstration of the FLRAA virtual prototype. FLRAA Project Manager, Colonel Jeffrey Poquette, said he was thrilled to see the first hardware delivered on the FLRAA program. He also noted that leveraging Congressional authorities would not only deliver two FLRAA virtual prototype cockpit simulators but also help in accelerating the broader program by four years. The virtual prototype is a vital part of the Army's accelerated acquisition approach that uses the Middle Tier of the Acquisition process. The two prototypes will expedite user familiarization, feedback, and the development of TTPs in preparation for FLRAA's transformational range and speed. Over time, these assets are likely to be converted into Flight Training Devices. Ryan Ehinger, Senior VP and FLRAA program director at Bell Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) stated the following on the development: 'I am incredibly proud of the joint team's execution, working together in parallel to the weapon system development to deliver this advanced capability. Having the PM FLRAA team alongside the Bell team as we head into final USG testing and delivery is further evidence of the extensive industry/government collaboration benefitting this program.' Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) manufactures products for consumers across several industries by leveraging its network of aircraft, defense, finance, and industrial businesses. The stock has surged by 15% over the past month, driven mainly by Q1 FY25 results that topped estimates for both revenue and earnings. While we acknowledge the potential of TXT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than TXT and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Best Drone Stocks to Buy According to Billionaires and 11 Best American Defense Stocks to Buy Now. Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Textron Inc. (TXT) Subsidiary Bell Demonstrates FLRAA Virtual Prototype to Army
Bell, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT), on May 20, announced that it had joined the U.S. Army Program Manager FLRAA office to support the demonstration of the FLRAA virtual prototype. FLRAA Project Manager, Colonel Jeffrey Poquette, said he was thrilled to see the first hardware delivered on the FLRAA program. He also noted that leveraging Congressional authorities would not only deliver two FLRAA virtual prototype cockpit simulators but also help in accelerating the broader program by four years. The virtual prototype is a vital part of the Army's accelerated acquisition approach that uses the Middle Tier of the Acquisition process. The two prototypes will expedite user familiarization, feedback, and the development of TTPs in preparation for FLRAA's transformational range and speed. Over time, these assets are likely to be converted into Flight Training Devices. Ryan Ehinger, Senior VP and FLRAA program director at Bell Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) stated the following on the development: 'I am incredibly proud of the joint team's execution, working together in parallel to the weapon system development to deliver this advanced capability. Having the PM FLRAA team alongside the Bell team as we head into final USG testing and delivery is further evidence of the extensive industry/government collaboration benefitting this program.' Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) manufactures products for consumers across several industries by leveraging its network of aircraft, defense, finance, and industrial businesses. The stock has surged by 15% over the past month, driven mainly by Q1 FY25 results that topped estimates for both revenue and earnings. While we acknowledge the potential of TXT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than TXT and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Best Drone Stocks to Buy According to Billionaires and 11 Best American Defense Stocks to Buy Now. Disclosure: None. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Army targets 2028 to deliver future assault aircraft to soldiers
NASHVILLE, Tenn. − The Army plans to accelerate the delivery of its first production-representative Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft to soldiers in 2028 by moving into low-rate production while still testing prototypes, Col. Jeffrey Poquette, the service's FLRAA program manager, told Defense News. Army leadership has tasked itself to accelerate the fielding of FLRAA as part of a newly debuted transformation initiative. And while speeding up any major procurement program contains substantial risk, Army aviation leaders and Textron's Bell, the company chosen to build the service's brand new advanced tiltrotor, say the program is unique in the sense that significant risk was driven down through digital design, engineering and a technology demonstration effort, where it flew the V-280 Valor tiltrotor for over 200 hours. 'Normally you would build prototypes, then you would go to test,' Poquette said. 'And during test, you're not doing a whole lot of building. You're testing the aircraft and you're building up a body of engineering work and results [ahead of] a Milestone C [production] decision.' Typically, programs are in testing with prototypes for roughly two years prior to production decisions. 'We're not going to accelerate testing. We're not going to accelerate design,' he said. 'They're already very compressed, but what we can do is assume a little bit of risk and say, well maybe we can build aircraft during test.' With the test effort going on in the background with the eight prototypes that will have already been built, Bell would begin building production aircraft, he said. In 2027, the Army plans to make an early production decision ahead of Milestone C. The service is able to do so because there is already an option built into the current contract with Bell to exercise a low-rate production lot. While concurrency — when a program chooses to produce systems before proving final design out through the testing program — has led to program delays and, in some cases, demise, Bell and the Army are confident this time is different. Bell has assured the Army that it is 'very confident' in its digital engineering to the point that, 'although it may not be perfect, it'll be pretty close,' Poquette said. 'It's a continuation of production from our prototypes into early production representative aircraft,' Ryan Ehinger, Bell's FLRAA program manager, said. 'And it's a second iteration. We did the [Joint Multirole Technology Demonstrator]. That was a one-off aircraft. We've been doing manufacturing development from then through now in some of these advanced manufacturing technologies and techniques.' Bell also builds critical components like the wing, the blades and the gear boxes, he added. 'We've got our manufacturing technology center that has been iterating for years on some of these designs,' he said. Another lever the Army plans to try to pull to accelerate fielding is completing full-rate production in four or five years rather than in seven or eight. 'What we're asking Bell to do is build capacity faster to get to a full-rate production,' Poquette said. 'That means we get a company a year earlier, but we get a battalion 18 months earlier and we get two battalions 30 months earlier.' While the original plan was to conduct the initial operational test program in late FY31, the Army could also be able to enter that phase more quickly because it will already have aircraft built, according to Poquette. The IOT&E could potentially begin in the FY28 or FY29 time period.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
MV-75 Official Designation Given To Future U.S. Army Tiltrotor Assault Aircraft
The U.S. Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) tiltrotors will be designated MV-75s, the service announced today at the Army Aviation Association of America's annual Mission Solutions Summit. In 2022, the Army picked a design from Bell based on that company's V-280 Valor tiltrotor as the winner of its FLRAA competition. The service expects to replace a substantial number of its H-60 Black Hawk helicopters, including a portion of the special operations MH-60Ms assigned to the elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR), with new MV-75s. The design is set to be finalized by the end of the year, and incorporates features to help make it easier to convert baseline variants into special operations versions. Just announced by the @USArmy: MV-75! The U.S. Army's official mission-design series designator (MDS) for the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA). #FLRAA#MV75#ArmyModernization# — Bell (@BellFlight) May 14, 2025 A prototype YMV-75A designation for FLRAA was reportedly approved in November 2024, according to the website. TWZ had been working to confirm that designation with the Army since March. In terms of the designation itself, the 'M' stands for 'multi-mission' and the 'V' refers to it being a vertical takeoff and landing capable design. The use of the 'M' prefix for the baseline FLRAA variant is interesting given that previous Army transport helicopters like the Black Hawk and the Chinook have all had designations starting with 'U' for utility or 'C' for cargo. The 'multi-mission' designation here may, in part, reflect the baked-in special operations-specific features. The Army may also be expecting the baseline FLRAA design to be more readily adaptable to other missions, like the casualty evacuation or 'dustoff' role. Army helicopters used for that mission set have often had designations 'H' search and rescue prefixes. Whether the number '75,' which is very much out of sequence with other known 'V' designations, has any special significance is unknown. says that XV-25A, reportedly approved last year for the experimental tilt-ducted fan ARES drone, is the most recent in-sequence designation in that category. TWZ has reached out to the Army for more information. The official announcement of the MV-75 designation for FLRAA comes as the Army is looking to accelerate the fielding of these tiltrotors. The service sees the increased speed and range the tiltrotors offer over the Black Hawk as particularly critical for any future high-end conflict in the Pacific region. The Army's stated goal has been for the MV-75 to begin entering service by 2030, but has said more recently that they are now trying to aim for the 2028 timeframe. The service has also pushed back on reports about the potential for the FLRAA program to be truncated or even cancelled as part of a larger service-wide force restructuring. The 101st Airborne Division, the Army's premier air assault unit, is set to be the first unit to get MV-75s. The 101st has already begun laying the groundwork to receive the future titlors, which officials say will completely transform how it conducts operations, as you can read more about here. As noted, versions specially configured for special operations missions are also on the horizon for the 160th SOAR. 'We're not waiting for a distant out-year to make this thing real,' Gen. James Mingus, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, said in prepared remarks at the Mission Solutions Summit today, according to Defense News. 'Under the Army Transformation Initiative, we are driving to get this aircraft online years ahead of schedule.' If the Army has its way, at least as it has been communicated now, the first operational MV-75s could start being delivered well before the end of the decade. Contact the author: joe@
