SOCOM Multi-Mission Plane Competition Heats Up

SOCOM Multi-Mission Plane Competition Heats Up
SOCOM Multi-Mission Plane Competition Heats Up

SOCOM has budgeted $106 million in 2021 to buy the first five of up to 75 Armed Overwatch aircraft to perform close air support for its troops on the ground, light attack and ISR missions. The planes would replace Air Force Special Operations Command current fleet of U-28 Draco aircraft.

Special Ops Budget Crunch Looms, But New Aircraft Demo Coming

Special Ops Budget Crunch Looms, But New Aircraft Demo Coming
Special Ops Budget Crunch Looms, But New Aircraft Demo Coming

“And so what’s really important to me is what the vendor brings to the table, in terms of their ability to integrate weapons onto a non-developmental platform,” said SOCOM acquisition czar Jim Smith.

Army Robots: Two Contracts Forward, One Contract Back

Army Robots: Two Contracts Forward, One Contract Back
Army Robots: Two Contracts Forward, One Contract Back

Textron won the Robotic Combat Vehicle-Medium and Qinetiq the RCV-Light, but General Dynamics’ award for the S-MET “mule” must be recompeted.

Textron Rolls Out Ripsaw Robot For RCV-Light … And RCV-Medium

Textron Rolls Out Ripsaw Robot For RCV-Light … And RCV-Medium
Textron Rolls Out Ripsaw Robot For RCV-Light … And RCV-Medium

The Ripsaw design is so flexible, the company claims, it can scale up and down for different missions.

Bell Unveils Army Scout Helicopter — With Wings

Bell Unveils Army Scout Helicopter — With Wings
Bell Unveils Army Scout Helicopter — With Wings

With its trademark tiltrotors too big for the Army’s FARA requirement, Bell is squeezing every ounce of performance out of a helicopter. Will it be fast enough?

House Members Seek NDAA Language to Force Light-Attack Aircraft Buy

House Members Seek NDAA Language to Force Light-Attack Aircraft Buy
House Members Seek NDAA Language to Force Light-Attack Aircraft Buy

Phil Clay, a former Navy test pilot for the Imminent Fury/Combat Dragon close air support experiments, says the Air Force should purchase “at least a wing” (20 planes) of the Light-Attack Aircraft for SOCOM and the so-called foreign internal defense (FID) mission to combat insurgencies. 

Textron Preps For Mass Production Of New Army Rifle

Textron Preps For Mass Production Of New Army Rifle
Textron Preps For Mass Production Of New Army Rifle

Textron is not just betting it will win the Next Generation Squad Weapons contract: It’s betting the Army will want to start buying in bulk ASAP. That’s not a bad bet.

Bell To Offer Conventional Helicopter For Army FARA Scout

Bell To Offer Conventional Helicopter For Army FARA Scout
Bell To Offer Conventional Helicopter For Army FARA Scout

Instead of trying to scale down its tiltrotor technology, Bell will offer a derivative of its Bell 525. Will it have the speed and range the Army wants?

Textron, Martin Win $99.5M For Army Scout Drone: FTUAS

Textron, Martin Win $99.5M For Army Scout Drone: FTUAS
Textron, Martin Win $99.5M For Army Scout Drone: FTUAS

The new drone is just one part of an ambitious overhaul of Army aviation.

Romania Inches Forward On Major Attack Helo Deal

Romania Inches Forward On Major Attack Helo Deal
Romania Inches Forward On Major Attack Helo Deal

Romania, a NATO ally, is nervously watching Russian moves in the Black Sea, is spending big on American military kit.

Commandos Buying Thousands of Small Missiles That Pack A Bigger Punch Than Hellfires

Commandos Buying Thousands of Small Missiles That Pack A Bigger Punch Than Hellfires
Commandos Buying Thousands of Small Missiles That Pack A Bigger Punch Than Hellfires

As counterterrorism missions show no signs of slowing down and civilian casualties always a worry, the commando command is turning to a light, guided munition to chase down fast-moving targets.

Bell Update On ‘Amazing’ V-280

Bell Update On ‘Amazing’ V-280
Bell Update On ‘Amazing’ V-280

AUSA: Bell Helicopter is moving right along with its new V-280 Valor, a tiltrotor being built under the Army-led, multiservice Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program. The V-280 – which flies at 280 knots cruising speed — resembles the bigger V-22 Osprey built by Bell and Boeing for the Marine Corps, Air Force Special Operations Command…

Bell V-280 Revs Rotors In First Ground Test

Bell V-280 Revs Rotors In First Ground Test
Bell V-280 Revs Rotors In First Ground Test

Bell’s V-280 tiltrotor didn’t take flight – not yet – but it has tilted its rotors into helicopter mode and spun them up during its first-ever “restrained ground run test.” This test mode plugs the whole aircraft into a bulky apparatus to ensure it doesn’t take off by accident. (That would be bad). The test…

Kill Army Helo Upgrades & Build Super Chopper: Bell V-280 Exec

Kill Army Helo Upgrades & Build Super Chopper: Bell V-280 Exec
Kill Army Helo Upgrades & Build Super Chopper: Bell V-280 Exec

AMARILLO, TEX.: Bell Helicopter is so confident in their new V-280 tilt-rotor prototype that they want the Pentagon to accelerate the Future Vertical Lift program – which they think the V-280 will win – by “five to eight years.” [Click here for our head-to-head comparison of the V-280 and its rival, the Sikorsky-Boeing SB>1] That…