Future Vertical Lift Future Vertical Lift ( FVL ) is a program to develop a family of helicopters for the United States Armed Forces . Four different sizes of aircraft are to be developed . They are to share common hardware such as sensors , avionics , engines , and countermeasures . The U . S . Army has been considering the program since 2004 . FVL is meant to develop a replacement for the Army ' s UH - 60 Black Hawk , AH - 64 Apache , CH - 47 Chinook , and OH - 58 Kiowa helicopters . The precursor for FVL is the Joint Multi - Role ( JMR ) helicopter program , which will provide technology demonstrations planned for 2017 . Overview . Summary . After a decade of combat from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom , the U . S . Department of Defense found that the U . S . Army ' s rotorcraft fleet was wearing out . Combat operations made the helicopters fly five times more often than in peace time . Manufacturers have been remanufacturing and upgrading existing families of aircraft without creating original platforms . The Future Vertical Lift ( FVL ) concept is to create a new rotorcraft that uses new technology , materials , and designs that are quicker , have further range , better payload , are more reliable , easier to maintain and operate , have lower operating costs , and can reduce logistical footprints . FVL is to create a family of systems to replace most Army helicopters . The Joint Multi - Role ( JMR ) phases will provide technology demonstrations . JMR - TD will develop the aerial platform ; JMR Phase I will develop the air vehicle ; JMR Phase II will develop mission systems . The Army plans to acquire as many as 4 , 000 aircraft from the FVL program . FVL is being pursued by the U . S . Army and the U . S . Special Operations Command . The U . S . Marine Corps plans to continue using its current fleet " for the foreseeable future " due to budget plans and with roles filled by helicopters with their required shipboard amphibious capability . Future Vertical Lift was established in 2009 as an initiative , not yet a solution , by the Secretary of Defense to focus all DoD vertical lift capabilities and technology development . In October 2011 , the Deputy Secretary of Defense issued the FVL Strategic Plan to outline a joint approach for the next generation vertical lift aircraft for all military services . The Strategic Plan provided a foundation for replacing the current fleet with advanced capability by shaping the development of vertical lift aircraft for the next 25 to 40 years . It indicates that 80 percent of decision points for the DoD vertical lift fleet to either extend the life , retire , or replace with a new solution occurring in the next 8 – 10 years . Implementation of the FVL Strategic Plan which will impact vertical lift aviation operations for the next 50 + years . Configurations . Four size configurations are envisioned : According to the U . S . House Armed Services Committee , three different configurations of JMR aircraft - a conventional helicopter , a large - wing slowed rotor compound helicopter , and a tiltrotor - were being studied as of April 2013 . Design requirements . In March 2013 , the Army asked industry to submit proposals for an effort called the Alternative Engine Conceptual Design and Analysis . Although formal requirements for the FVL family of systems have not yet been set , they will need to have hover , speed , range , payload and fuel efficiency characteristics " beyond any current rotorcraft " . This may require an aircraft that can hover at 10 , 000 ft and cruise at 30 , 000 ft . The engine will require alternative , advanced engine / power system configurations that enable enhanced mission capability , such as improved time on station , increased mission radius , and quieter operation . Due to the different configurations of the airframe , power outputs from 40 shp to 10 , 000 shp are being studied . The engine design should be ready by the start of the demonstration phase of the FVL program in 2017 . One to four companies can be awarded a contract with work completed in 18 months . Development . Joint Multi - Role . On 5 June 2013 , Bell announced that its V - 280 Valor design had been selected by the Army for the Joint Multi - Role ( JMR ) Technology Demonstrator ( TD ) phase . 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 . The Boeing - Sikorsky team , pitching the high - speed compound helicopter design based on the X2 prototype , also reported they were invited to negotiate a technology investment agreement for the JMR - TD Phase I program . JMR - TD contracts were expected to be awarded in September 2013 , with flights scheduled for 2017 . AVX Aircraft also confirmed that it had been selected for the JMR Phase I as a Category I participant . Their entry is a coaxial - rotor compound helicopter with ducted fans for propulsion and small wings to offload the rotors at high speed . The company plans to build a 70 % scale demonstrator using existing General Electric T700 engines . EADS withdrew from the program before designs had been selected , and Piasecki Aircraft was not chosen to continue in the effort . On 31 July 2013 , Boeing and Sikorsky pledged they will invest more than double the amount money the government is spending on JMR if the team is chosen to build and demonstrate a rotorcraft for the program . On 6 August 2013 , Lockheed Martin said it will offer a new mission equipment package to meet the requirements for the JMR / FVL program . Lockheed will incorporate future airborne capability environment software standards into the aircraft ' s cockpit and mission systems to use their avionics , sensors , and weapons . Boeing and other companies are expected to offer rival sets of avionics . On 9 September 2013 , Bell announced Lockheed would be teaming with them on the V - 280 . On 2 October 2013 , the U . S . Army awarded technology investment agreements to AVX Aircraft , Bell Helicopters , Karem Aircraft , and Sikorsky Aircraft under the Joint Multi - Role Technology Demonstrator Phase I program . There are two general types of proposals : tiltrotors with rotors that serve as both rotors and conventional propellers , and gyrocopter - like aircraft with immobile vertical rotors and separate rear - mounted propellers . AVX and Sikorsky are offering gyrocopter designs with two counter - rotating rotors to provide vertical lift . For forward movement , AVX uses two ducted fans and Sikorsky uses a single propeller on the back . Bell is offering the V - 280 Valor tiltrotor . Karem Aircraft is offering a tiltrotor with optimum - speed rotors , allowing the aircraft to speed or slow the propellers depending on speed or efficiency demands . Similar technology was used on the A160 Hummingbird . JMR - TD is not to develop a prototype for the next family of vehicles or pre - select an airframe for FVL , but to develop and demonstrate an operationally representative mix of capabilities , technologies , and interfaces to investigate realistic design trades and enabling technologies . 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 was a potential for an early downselect , the four teams are focused on the 2017 flight demonstrations . Emerging results from JMR TD Phase 1 will be used to inform the FVL effort regarding vehicle configurations , the maturity of enabling technologies , attainable performance and capabilities , and will highlight affordable technical solutions required to achieve those capabilities . Each of the four teams received $ 6 . 5 million from the Army for this phase of the program . On 21 October 2013 , defense executives bidding for the program stated that the Army plans to downselect to two companies in 2014 , who will then develop prototypes for flight tests in 2017 . JMR - TD phase I is focused on creating a medium utility rotorcraft airframe , while phase II will develop mission systems and software .