US Army launches FLRAA acquisition programme
On 2 August, the US Army announced that it had approved ‘Milestone B’ of the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) programme, thereby marking the official start of the acquisition programme for what Doug Bush, assistant secretary of the army for acquisition, logistics, and technology, called: “our highest aviation modernisation priority.”
‘Milestone B’ also launched the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase for the Bell V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft which was selected as the Army’s next-generation troop carrier in December 2022, and confirmed in April 2023.
The V-280 is now an official Programme of Record, and the initial contract is expected to be worth US $7.1 billion, with follow-on procurement totalling US $70 billion. The V-280 is intended to eventually replace the Sikorsky UH-60 as the US Army’s main assault, medevac, and utility rotorcraft. Brigadier General Cain Baker, director of the Future Vertical Lift Cross Functional Team said that: “The FLRAA Milestone B decision is another successful step of a deliberate modernisation effort by the army… FLRAA’s speed, reach, and survivability will be key to transforming US Army manoeuvre.”
The design successfully passed the FLRAA preliminary design review in April, and then a June evaluation by the Army Systems Acquisition Review Council, which confirmed that all sources of programme risk had been “adequately addressed for this phase.”
Bell will now begin detailed aircraft design, and the construction of six prototypes, aiming for a first flight in 2026 and the start of low-rate initial production (LRIP) in 2028, with “initial fielding activity” following in 2030.
