Bell moves forward in Army’s long range assault aircraft program

Bell V-280

Fort Worth-based Bell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, has been selected as a project agreement holder for the competitive demonstration and risk reduction (CD&RR) effort as part of the U.S. Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program.

Under the agreement Bell will deliver a V-280 Valor design, with supporting technical documentation, that builds on the data captured during the more than two years and 170 hours of flight testing under the Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstration (JMR TD) program to inform the FLRAA program of record.

“Bell and Team Valor are excited to continue working on a system that has proven its ability to bring exceptional capabilities to warfighters,” said Mitch Snyder, president and CEO at Bell. “The JMR TD and V-280 show that rapid maturation of new technology is possible with a solid government-industry partnership fueled by our talented and innovative workforce. We look forward to the FLRAA competition.”

The U.S. Army also announced that the Sikorsky-Boeing team has been selected to move forward in the program as well.

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Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, the top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, released the following statement after the U.S. Army announced their decision to move forward with one phase of the highly showcased Future Vertical Lift program.

“I have supported Future Vertical Lift from the very beginning and I’m proud to join the Army and their industry partners in celebrating this important step for a program so critical to our national defense. The Army’s decision to select Bell and Sikorsky-Boeing for continued development in Capability Set 3 means our soldiers will have the top-notch aircraft they need to counter threats from Russia and China for decades to come.

“Bell’s selection is especially important to North Texas. The North Texas aviation workforce is uniquely positioned and qualified to provide the Army with the industrial partnership necessary to ensure that Future Vertical Lift is successful. Our aviation workforce is highly skilled and ready to handle the production, assembly, and advanced research and development needed to make these new rotorcrafts a reality. Additionally, I expect the Army to make another announcement for Capability Set 1 soon that will further look to support additional local partners such as AVX who are also making great strides in Army modernization.”