WASHINGTON: In normal times, this week would see Bell Textron and the Sikorsky-Boeing team showing off their cutting-edge aircraft at AUSA Global Force in Huntsville, with video displays, models, and even full-size mock-ups. With conferences closed down because of the coronavirus, we’re making an all-out push to give you a virtual taste of Huntsville (click here for more stories).

Today, as part of our ongoing series of stories on the Army’s Future Vertical Lift initiative, we’ve spliced together video from both teams with footage we’ve taken ourselves at various test flights to give you a close-up look at the two competitors to replace the UH-60 Black Hawk:

  • The Sikorsky-Boeing SB>1 Defiant, a compound helicopter with twin rotors and a propeller for high speed;
  • The Bell Textron V-280 Valor, a next-generation tiltrotor slimmed down from the famous V-22 Osprey.

The two teams just split $181 million in Army funding to refine these designs into their final proposals for the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA), scheduled to enter service ca. 2030 as the replacement for the Reagan-era stalwart, the UH-60 Black Hawk.