Bell V-280 Valor manufacturer Bell Flight
The Bell V-280 Valor is a tiltrotor aircraft being developed by Bell Helicopter for the United States Army's Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program. The aircraft was officially unveiled at the 2013 Army Aviation Association of America's (AAAA) Annual Professional Forum and Exposition in Fort Worth, Texas. The V-280 made its first flight on 18 December 2017 in Amarillo, Texas.On 5 December 2022, the V-280 was chosen by the US Army as the winner of the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft program to replace the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk.Development
In June 2013, Bell Helicopter announced that the V-280 Valor design had been selected by the US Army for the Joint Multi-Role (JMR) Technology Demonstrator (TD) phase.  The JMR-TD phase is the technology demonstration precursor to Future Vertical Lift (FVL).  The Army classified the offering as a Category I proposal, meaning it is a well-conceived, scientifically or technically sound proposal pertinent to program goals and objectives with applicability to Army mission needs, offered by a responsible contractor with the competent scientific and technical staff supporting resources required to achieve results.  JMR-TD contracts were expected to be awarded in September 2013, with flights scheduled for 2017.In September 2013, Bell announced it would partner with Lockheed Martin to develop the V-280.  Lockheed will provide integrated avionics, sensors, and weapons to the aircraft.  Additional partners were announced in the following months, including Moog Inc. for the flight control systems, GE Aviation for the engines, GKN for the tail structure, Spirit AeroSystems for the composite fuselage, Eaton Corporation as the distributor of hydraulics and power generation systems, and Astronics Advanced Electric Systems to design and manufacture power distribution systems. Israel Aerospace Industries, the first international partner recruited for the V-280, will supply the nacelle structures. Textron sister company TRU Simulation & Training will build a high-fidelity marketing simulator and desktop maintenance trainer.In October 2013, the U.S. Army awarded a technology investment agreement (TIA) to Bell for the V-280 Valor tiltrotor under the Joint Multi-Role program.  Awards were also given to AVX Aircraft, Karem Aircraft, and a Sikorsky-Boeing team.  The JMR program is not intended to develop a prototype for the next family of vehicles, but to develop technologies and interfaces.  The TIAs give the four teams nine months to complete preliminary design of their rotorcraft, which the Army will then review and authorize the construction of two competing demonstrators to fly in 2017.  While there is a potential for an early downselect, the four teams are focused on the 2017 flight demonstrations. Each of the four teams received $6.5 million from the Army for phase I of the program, although Bell is investing an undisclosed amount of its own money. On 21 October 2013, Bell unveiled the first full-scale mock-up of the V-280 Valor at Association of the United States Army 2013.On 11 August 2014, the Army informed the Bell-Lockheed team that they had chosen the V-280 Valor to continue with the JMR demonstration program.  The Boeing-Sikorsky team offering the SB-1 Defiant was also chosen. Announcement of the selections was officially made on 3 October 2014, and the teams began building technology demonstration aircraft for test flights in 2017. Bell unveiled a full-scale mock-up of the V-280 Valor on the floor at AUSA 2014 to showcase the configuration and design of the high-speed platform.  It is focused on the infantry squad and is to handle much like a helicopter in terms of low-speed agility to have unprecedented pitch, roll, and yaw response for those operations.  Roughly the size of the current medium-lift helicopter, the V-280 is designed to travel twice as fast and twice as far.  Bell is pitching these capabilities for movement over vast areas like the Pacific. The program director said the need for forward arming and refueling points could be eliminated and that one FOB (forward operating base) in the middle of a country, such as Afghanistan, could cover the entire country.Although Bell sold its share in the AW609 program in 2011, Bell continues to work on the AW609 and considers commercial potential for the V-280, as a military mass production of 2,000–4,000 aircraft could reduce unit cost to commercially acceptable levels. In 2016, Bell stated that it preferred the 609 for commercial use, and intended to offer the V-280 for military use only. Bell also stated that conventional helicopters were not part of Bell's military future.The Bell V-280 was chosen over the Sikorsky Defiant X on 5 December 2022. Sikorsky filed a protest after losing the contract, but the Government Accountability Office rejected it on the grounds that Bell's submission was more advantageous in more areas while Sikorsky's information had too many deficiencies and did not provide enough detail on how it would meet requirements.
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