FVL: Next Steps For UH-60 & Shadow Replacements In ‘Weeks’

FVL: Next Steps For UH-60 & Shadow Replacements In ‘Weeks’
FVL: Next Steps For UH-60 & Shadow Replacements In ‘Weeks’

How can Army accelerate its Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft when one leading contender started flight tests just seven days ago?

SB>1 Defiant Takes Flight: Can It Catch Bell?

SB>1 Defiant Takes Flight: Can It Catch Bell?
SB>1 Defiant Takes Flight: Can It Catch Bell?

The thing that delayed Defiant, it turns out, is the same thing that makes it really attractive to the Army.

Bell’s V-280 Tiltrotor Is Part F-35

Bell’s V-280 Tiltrotor Is Part F-35
Bell’s V-280 Tiltrotor Is Part F-35

AUSA: Bell Helicopter’s exhibit at this week’s Association of the United States Army convention includes a full-scale mockup of the V-280 Valor, the new tiltrotor the company is building. From the outside, it sure looks like a close cousin of the V-22 Osprey. Under the skin, the V-280 seems a lot more like a prop-driven F-35. The…

We Defy You to Ride the SB>1 Simulator With Us

We Defy You to Ride the SB>1 Simulator With Us
We Defy You to Ride the SB>1 Simulator With Us

AUSA: As a rule of thumb, the aerodynamics of rotor blades limit helicopters to top cruising speeds well under 200 mph, but Sikorsky and Boeing are building an aircraft they promise will thumb its nose at that rule. It’s a compound helicopter – two coaxial rotors and a pusher propeller – that they promise will…

Month After Us, Bell Unveils V-247 Vigilant Tiltrotor Drone

Month After Us, Bell Unveils V-247 Vigilant Tiltrotor Drone
Month After Us, Bell Unveils V-247 Vigilant Tiltrotor Drone

Bell Helicopter confirmed Thursday what the deputy commandant of the Marine Corps, Lt. Gen. Jon “Dog” Davis, told Breaking Defense a month ago. The company is designing a new tiltrotor drone about the size of the Air Force’s armed MQ-9 Reaper, with similar capabilities, that it hopes the Marines will buy. They call it the V-247…

Big SPAR Army Review May Topple ITEP

Big SPAR Army Review May Topple ITEP
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…