FARA analysis of alternatives set for end of the year, official says
The analysis of alternatives is needed for the program’s milestone B decision, and could help quell some lawmakers’ concerns about the Army’s acquisition strategy.
Army’s FARA-destined future helicopter engine passes first test
After delays, the ITEP engine will start preliminary flight rating testing in the fall and the Army plans to make it available to FARA prototypes by November.
presented by
AI is transforming pilot training and the aircraft they fly
Modeling and simulation get an AI upgrade for more realistic training and improved autonomous platforms.
FVL: Army’s High-Speed Helicopters Hurtle Ahead
Bell and Sikorsky have started building their competing prototypes for the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) ahead of a Final Design Review in November. The vital digital architecture is still in development.
COVID Can’t Stop A Busy Summer For Army FVL
Despite disruptions worldwide, Future Vertical Lift flight tests, virtual industry days, and design reviews are all moving ahead on schedule or mere weeks behind.
FVL: The Army’s 10-Year Plan For FARA Scout
The Army’s urgently developing new air-launched drones, long-range missiles, and electronic architecture to go on the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft that Bell and Sikorsky are vying to build.
Raider-X: Sikorsky’s Supersized S-97 For Army Scout
Sikorsky says their Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft design will fly faster, with bigger weapons, than archrival Bell’s. Bell says theirs will be cheaper and more reliable.
The questions that warfighters ask the most are now answered with data analytics
CDAO’s Advana data analytics platform is ingesting data from about 500 DoD business systems.
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?
ITEP: GE Defends Its Helicopter Engine
Leaked extracts from an Army review tell only part of the story, a 12-year saga of extensive research, development, and testing, the company argues.
ATEC Appeals To Hill For Helicopter Engine Dough
Rebuffed by the Army and GAO in its bid to re-engine aging helicopters, ATEC has gone over their heads to Congress and asked legislators for a second chance.
FARA: Army Awards 5 Design Contracts; Winner Enters Production in 2028
Awards for Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft designs went to Bell, Boeing, Karem, Sikorsky, and a partnership of AVX and L-3.
presented by
Powering the future: Securing America with domestically made microelectronics
Onshoring and investment in military-specific semiconductors anchor a cornerstone of the defense industrial base.
GE’s ITEP Win & The Army’s Inch-By-Inch Revolution
Having wasted tens of billions and almost 30 years since the end of the Cold War, the Army is out of time. But after decades of incremental improvements, its existing weapons — including the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that GE’s new engine will upgrade – are overweight, underpowered, and running out of room to grow. Meanwhile, the Army’s attempts at a high-tech great leap forward kept getting cancelled as unaffordable, unfeasible, or both.
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 […]
Big SPAR Army Review May Topple ITEP
Critics say the Army could end up wasting billions by developing a better engine for its Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopters even as the joint Future Vertical Lift (FVL) initiative gets underway to replace those aircraft. The critics are wrong, program officials assure us. But the critics still disagree. A new Army […]
Buy A New Helo Engine? The Army Thinks It Can, Thinks It Can…
After more than seven years of designing and testing how to make new, more powerful, and incredibly fuel efficient engines for its AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and UH-60 Black Hawk utility birds, the Army has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP). The Army’s “top aviation priority” thus takes a baby step closer to becoming a […]