Military

US Army selects V-280 Valor as replacement for Black Hawk and Apache

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The V-280 Valor will replace the Black Hawk and Apache helicopters
Bell
The V-280 Valor will replace the Black Hawk and Apache helicopters
Bell
The V0280 Valor is expected to enter service by 2030
Bell

After years of testing and deliberation, the US Army has made the US$1.3-billion decision to select the Bell V-280 Valor tilt-rotor craft to replace the Army's 2,000 UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters and 1,200 AH-64 Apache assault helicopters.

The new development contract for the Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program is part of the Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR TD) program that was initiated in 2013 to design, build, and flight test prototype candidates to replace the Army's current inventory of utility and long-range assault rotorcraft.

Now that the V-280 has been selected, funding will go towards advancing the rotorcraft to production by refining its weapon system design, sustainment, digital enterprise, manufacturing, systems integration, flight-testing, and airworthiness qualification.

Carrying a crew of four and up to 14 troops, the V-280 Valor may resemble the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, but it differs in a number of important respects, including lighter weight thanks to the extensive use of composites and having its twin Rolls-Royce AE 1107F turboshaft engines mounted in fixed position in the rotor nacelles while the rotors tilt. This has not only reduced the weight, it has also reduced the cost of the V-280 by 30 percent compared to the Osprey.

The V0280 Valor is expected to enter service by 2030
Bell

The V-280 Valor has a cruising speed of 280 knots (320 mph, 520 km/h), a service ceiling of 6,000 ft (1,800 m) in hover out of ground effect at 35 °C (95 °F), a combat range of up to 920 miles (1,480 km), and a ferry range of 2,400 miles (3,900 km). By using twin engines with shared drive shafts, both rotors can be run by a single engine in the event of a mechanical failure, as well as giving the rotorcraft a lift capacity of about 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) at a speed of 150 knots (170 mph, 280 km/h).

"This is an exciting time for the US Army, Bell, and Team Valor as we modernize the Army’s aviation capabilities for decades to come," said Mitch Snyder, president and CEO of Bell. "Bell has a long history supporting Army Aviation and we are ready to equip Soldiers with the speed and range they need to compete and win using the most mature, reliable, and affordable high-performance long-range assault weapon system in the world."

Source: Bell

Update (Dec. 8, 2022): This article originally stated that the engines were located inside the fuselage, which is incorrect. We apologize for the error, which has now been corrected, and thank the commenters who pointed it out.

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14 comments
Smokey_Bear
I'm kinda surprised, I was thinking the Osprey's issues would play a bigger factor, and the Defiant X would be the winner. Hopefully this turns out to be a great aircraft.
Brian M
Wonder if the aircraft is more vulnerable to incoming fire by having two rotors or if the fixed wing and no tail rotor means it could lose its rotors and glide like a fixed wing aircraft to a more controlled landing (with enough altitude or speed) than a conventional helicopter.
PrometheusGoneWild.com
With distributed/redundant EVTOL systems being put on multiple aircraft, this is already obsolete.
David G from NYC
The comment about EVTOLs rendering the V-280 obsolete is bunk, there is no EVTOL developed, designed or even contemplated with the speed, range and carrying capacity of the V-280. I love EVTOLs and am eager to see them advanced, but lets not make things up about them.
FB36
IMHO mechanically complex helicopters/aircraft belong to 20th Century!
Instead, imagine electric quadcopter/hexacopter/octocopter powered by battery & (bio)diesel gas turbine engine (for re-charging the battery)!
michael_dowling
Like the Osprey,I would not like to ride in this thing. If anything happened to one rotor or it's transmission to cause it to stop turning,the whole thing drops like a rock,unlike in a heli,where engine failure only means the craft lands in auto rotation mode. The blades of helicopters are pretty robust from my reading,able to survive bullet holes and similar damage.
Rocky Stefano
@PrometheusGoneWild.com - For God's sake no EVTOL has the ability to carry 4,500 kg at a speed of 280 km/h for almost 3900km!
guzmanchinky
Well it's obviously VERY cool, but seems very vulnerable on the modern battlefield with all the shoulder fired weapons out there...
TimothyRitchie
Just wondering where the military is getting the trained techs need to maintain or fly in these craft? Because they're scrapping the bottom of the brain barrel now just to get ground pounders to join? No one answers those questions. They don't fix or fly themselves.
drzarkov99
Speed and range appear to be the major deciding factors. The Valor is 100 mph faster and has twice the ferry range of the competing helicopters. Whether this is a smart decision remains to be seen. I understand replacing the Black Hawk, but I'm surprised they chose this design to replace the Apache, as we have yet to see what an armed/armored version of this would look like.