The US Army announced it has selected both Bell and the Sikorsky-Boeing team to proceed to the next stage of its Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) competition.
The two teams are now set to square off in a competitive demonstration and risk reduction (CD&RR) phase.
The Army’s PEO Aviation recently awarded the FLRAA CD&RR project agreements to Bell for its Valor prototype and the Boeing-Sikorsky team for the SB>1 Defiant.
These agreements will consist of risk reduction activities that combine government research with input from industry partners to inform the future development and procurement of the FLRAA weapons system.
These CD&RR agreements will extend over two years, informing the final army requirements and the program of record planned for competition in 2022.
“These agreements are an important milestone for FLRAA,” said Mr. Patrick Mason, Program Executive Officer, Aviation. “The CD&RR continues to transition technologies from the JMR-TD effort to the FLRAA weapons system design. We will be conducting analysis to refine the requirements, conceptual designs, and acquisition approach.”
The army will eventually proceed with one of the two platforms and field the successor of the UH-60 Black Hawk by fiscal year 2030.
FLRAA is a key capability within the future vertical lift (FVL) ecosystem and FVL is one of the Army’s top six modernization efforts. FLRAA will enable multi-domain operations, fly further and faster than existing aircraft, and provide air assault and MEDEVAC support to the maneuver force in a contested and ever-changing environment.
