Photo: Bell
The days of the mighty Black Hawk are slowly coming to an end. Introduced by Sikorsky in 1974, the helicopter has grown to become one of the most successful of its kind ever made, with over 5,000 of them being used over the years for military missions, relief efforts, medevac, you name it.
The biggest operator of military Black Hawks in the world is the US Army, but no matter how much America's soldiers like the platform, even they can't deny the helo is getting old and increasingly difficult to update to modern requirements. So they started to search for a replacement through a program called Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA).
Two companies entered the game back in 2019, namely Sikorsky and Bell Textron, with the latter being declared the winner of the competition back in 2022. Its design is called the V-280 Valor, and it will take the form of a tiltrotor machine that should be at least twice as capable as the UH-60 Black Hawk it is meant to replace.
The decision to go for the Valor was taken by the Army back in 2022, and this summer it was announced that the tiltrotor was cleared for the start of the Program of Record (PoR) and the production of six prototype aircraft for testing. And now we have a pretty good idea of where the things will be put together.
Bell said last week the Valor's fuselage will be assembled starting the next few months at an existing facility in Wichita, Kansas, more specifically at the Beech Field on Textron Aviation's East Campus. Production there will be supported by additional work at the Advanced Composite Center in Fort Worth, with final assembly expected to take place in Amarillo, Texas.
When fully operational, the Valor will be capable of taking off and landing like a helicopter, while at the same time flying like a fixed-wing aircraft. This should give it twice the speed of the Black Hawk, but also twice the range.
The tiltrotor is described as “the most reliable, affordable and high-performing long-range assault aircraft in the world,” and will rely on a pair of Rolls-Royce turboshaft engines to get the job done. The final specifications are not public, but we do know the targeted max speed is 345 mph (555 kph) – that not only makes it a lot faster than the Black Hawk, but also faster than the record holder for helicopter speeds, the Airbus X3 – it flew X3 at 293 mph (472 kph) back in 2013.
The maximum range of the Valor is 575 miles (925 km), flown at the hands of a crew of four. The thing can carry up to 12 soldiers or 12,000 pounds (5.4 metric tons) of cargo.
There are plans to have the Valor ready for first flight in 2026, and low-rate production is expected to commence two years after that. Active duty status for the tiltrotor is expected to be achieved in 2030. Just like the helicopter it replaces, the Valor should be capable of performing a number of missions, including assault, troop insertion, and medevac.
Two companies entered the game back in 2019, namely Sikorsky and Bell Textron, with the latter being declared the winner of the competition back in 2022. Its design is called the V-280 Valor, and it will take the form of a tiltrotor machine that should be at least twice as capable as the UH-60 Black Hawk it is meant to replace.
The decision to go for the Valor was taken by the Army back in 2022, and this summer it was announced that the tiltrotor was cleared for the start of the Program of Record (PoR) and the production of six prototype aircraft for testing. And now we have a pretty good idea of where the things will be put together.
Bell said last week the Valor's fuselage will be assembled starting the next few months at an existing facility in Wichita, Kansas, more specifically at the Beech Field on Textron Aviation's East Campus. Production there will be supported by additional work at the Advanced Composite Center in Fort Worth, with final assembly expected to take place in Amarillo, Texas.
When fully operational, the Valor will be capable of taking off and landing like a helicopter, while at the same time flying like a fixed-wing aircraft. This should give it twice the speed of the Black Hawk, but also twice the range.
The tiltrotor is described as “the most reliable, affordable and high-performing long-range assault aircraft in the world,” and will rely on a pair of Rolls-Royce turboshaft engines to get the job done. The final specifications are not public, but we do know the targeted max speed is 345 mph (555 kph) – that not only makes it a lot faster than the Black Hawk, but also faster than the record holder for helicopter speeds, the Airbus X3 – it flew X3 at 293 mph (472 kph) back in 2013.
The maximum range of the Valor is 575 miles (925 km), flown at the hands of a crew of four. The thing can carry up to 12 soldiers or 12,000 pounds (5.4 metric tons) of cargo.
There are plans to have the Valor ready for first flight in 2026, and low-rate production is expected to commence two years after that. Active duty status for the tiltrotor is expected to be achieved in 2030. Just like the helicopter it replaces, the Valor should be capable of performing a number of missions, including assault, troop insertion, and medevac.
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