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.
By Theresa Hitchens“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.
By Paul McLeary and Theresa HitchensTextron won the Robotic Combat Vehicle-Medium and Qinetiq the RCV-Light, but General Dynamics’ award for the S-MET “mule” must be recompeted.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.The Ripsaw design is so flexible, the company claims, it can scale up and down for different missions.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.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?
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.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.
By Theresa HitchensInstead 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?
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.The new drone is just one part of an ambitious overhaul of Army aviation.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Romania, a NATO ally, is nervously watching Russian moves in the Black Sea, is spending big on American military kit.
By Paul McLearyAs 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.
By Paul McLearyAUSA: 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…
By Richard WhittleBell’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…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.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…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.