New Bell product - Bell V280
I can see this work as a strategic/ slight tactical transport, however how it should replace the Blackhawk and Apache in the real tactical role, requiring very low level manoevering, quick stops, fast insertions and extractions..... well let's just say I am curious how it performs in this part of the flight envelope.... that it can fly far and fast is nice, but is only a part of the required performance I guess.
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Maybe this is a slightly naive suggestion...
...but would buying both not be the best option for the US Army? Common engines (I think?), potentially commonality in avionics, but different platforms for different missions. Not to mention, keeping the ability to manufacture military helicopters alive in two rather than one organisation (accepting that each involves multiple players). The SB1 looks like a much better replacement for the Apache than the V280, but on the other hand, the V280 looks very good as a Blackhawk replacement...
...but would buying both not be the best option for the US Army? Common engines (I think?), potentially commonality in avionics, but different platforms for different missions. Not to mention, keeping the ability to manufacture military helicopters alive in two rather than one organisation (accepting that each involves multiple players). The SB1 looks like a much better replacement for the Apache than the V280, but on the other hand, the V280 looks very good as a Blackhawk replacement...
"Well protected" perhaps from prying eyes only. In the event of a birdstrike, the thin fiberglass nacelle fairings might well as be made of a wet paper bag. They will do nothing to attenuate the energy.
You hope they’re either stiff enough to deflect the bird (not likely unless a glancing blow) or the bird punches a hole through the fairing... one of the worst cases is if a fairing deflects like cloth as the bird penetrates the structure and helps contain the mass of the bird as it strikes real structure inside. Better to have the bird uncontained and allowed to 'flow' around structure like rods and struts. Of course, the impacted structure still has to be strong enough to survive those events. Bird strike testing and analysis was one of the more interesting problems I’ve dealt with.
Bell V-280 Valor Achieves First Flight - Bell Helicopter (news)
Bell V-280 Valor Achieves First Flight
Amarillo, Texas (December 18, 2017) – Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, today announced that its V-280 Valor has achieved first flight. The V-280 Valor is a next-generation tiltrotor that is designed to provide unmatched agility, speed, range and payload capabilities at an affordable cost. This milestone represents exceptional progress on the V-280 development program and brings Bell Helicopter one step closer to creating the next generation of vertical lift aircraft for the U.S. military.
“This is an exciting time for Bell Helicopter, and I could not be more proud of the progress we have made with first flight of the Bell V-280,” says Mitch Snyder, President & CEO for Bell Helicopter. “First flight demonstrates our commitment to supporting Department of Defense leadership’s modernization priorities and acquisition reform initiatives. The Valor is designed to revolutionize vertical lift for the U.S. Army and represents a transformational aircraft for all the challenging missions our armed forces are asked to undertake.
“We are thrilled to share in this success of the V-280 first flight with Team Valor,” added Snyder. “The V-280 intends to completely transform what is possible for the military when it comes to battle planning and forward operations.”
The Bell V-280 Valor program is part of the Joint Multi Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) initiative. The JMR-TD program is the science and technology precursor to the Department of Defense's Future Vertical Lift program. The V-280 program brings together the engineering resources and industrial capabilities of Bell Helicopter, Lockheed Martin, GE, Moog, IAI, TRU Simulation & Training, Astronics, Eaton, GKN Aerospace, Lord, Meggitt and Spirit AeroSystems—collectively referred to as Team Valor.
The Bell V-280 Valor is postured to provide the U.S. Army with the highest levels of maturity and technical readiness. The aircraft is designed to provide the best value in procurement, operations and support, and force structure, while delivering desired leap-ahead performance capabilities with increased maintainability, reliability and affordability to the DoD. With twice the speed and range of conventional helicopters, the Valor is designed to offer maneuver commanders unmatched operational agility to self-deploy and perform a multitude of vertical lift missions currently unachievable in one aircraft. The Bell V-280 is a combat force multiplier with superior performance, payload, survivability, and reliability to give the warfighter the decisive advantage.
Amarillo, Texas (December 18, 2017) – Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, today announced that its V-280 Valor has achieved first flight. The V-280 Valor is a next-generation tiltrotor that is designed to provide unmatched agility, speed, range and payload capabilities at an affordable cost. This milestone represents exceptional progress on the V-280 development program and brings Bell Helicopter one step closer to creating the next generation of vertical lift aircraft for the U.S. military.
“This is an exciting time for Bell Helicopter, and I could not be more proud of the progress we have made with first flight of the Bell V-280,” says Mitch Snyder, President & CEO for Bell Helicopter. “First flight demonstrates our commitment to supporting Department of Defense leadership’s modernization priorities and acquisition reform initiatives. The Valor is designed to revolutionize vertical lift for the U.S. Army and represents a transformational aircraft for all the challenging missions our armed forces are asked to undertake.
“We are thrilled to share in this success of the V-280 first flight with Team Valor,” added Snyder. “The V-280 intends to completely transform what is possible for the military when it comes to battle planning and forward operations.”
The Bell V-280 Valor program is part of the Joint Multi Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) initiative. The JMR-TD program is the science and technology precursor to the Department of Defense's Future Vertical Lift program. The V-280 program brings together the engineering resources and industrial capabilities of Bell Helicopter, Lockheed Martin, GE, Moog, IAI, TRU Simulation & Training, Astronics, Eaton, GKN Aerospace, Lord, Meggitt and Spirit AeroSystems—collectively referred to as Team Valor.
The Bell V-280 Valor is postured to provide the U.S. Army with the highest levels of maturity and technical readiness. The aircraft is designed to provide the best value in procurement, operations and support, and force structure, while delivering desired leap-ahead performance capabilities with increased maintainability, reliability and affordability to the DoD. With twice the speed and range of conventional helicopters, the Valor is designed to offer maneuver commanders unmatched operational agility to self-deploy and perform a multitude of vertical lift missions currently unachievable in one aircraft. The Bell V-280 is a combat force multiplier with superior performance, payload, survivability, and reliability to give the warfighter the decisive advantage.
Last edited by SansAnhedral; 18th Dec 2017 at 21:53.
Wow! Congrats team Bell!
Yup, you can always tell when someone in the external data release approval cycle gets nervous and decides a photo could be ITAR (or just proprietary/competition sensitive). Sikorsky has blurred some photos and video of the early RAIDER ground runs where the transmission bay was visible.
Latest V-280 Valor Flight Test Videos
Latest flight test updates on V-280 Valor along with videos.
https://www.defensenews.com/industry...-flight-tests/
https://www.defensenews.com/industry...-flight-tests/
Congrats to the Bell Team!
Bryan, Sikorsky/X2 alumnus
Bryan, Sikorsky/X2 alumnus
Program Update Video
At this rate Bell will have completed airspeed envelope expansion before SB even runs the replacement for the crashed S-97. Impressive progress in only 5 months.
First public flight demo
https://www.defensenews.com/land/201...c-flight-demo/
Interesting factoid noticed in this article
https://www.defensenews.com/land/201...c-flight-demo/
Interesting factoid noticed in this article
In cruise mode during the demonstration, the aircraft showed it has a much lower acoustic signature than a V-22.
V-280 Valor Retracts Landing Gear
While not as exciting as the SB>1 registering a tail number with the FAA, the V-280 achieved gear up flight last week. Clearing the path to 280 Kt cruise speed.
https://breakingdefense.com/2018/08/...ance-aircraft/
https://breakingdefense.com/2018/08/...ance-aircraft/
https://www.flightradar24.com/data/a...280bh#1de5c001
V-280 flights are showing up FR24 now it looks like
Today had a 1:45 flight @ ~11,500ft flight getting up to 259kt GS, not bad
V-280 flights are showing up FR24 now it looks like
Today had a 1:45 flight @ ~11,500ft flight getting up to 259kt GS, not bad
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One year anniversary