NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Army intends to speed up the delivery of its initial production-model
Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft
To soldiers in 2028 by transitioning to low-rate production even as they test prototypes, Col. Jeffrey Poquette, who serves as the FLRAA program manager, informed Defense News.
Army leadership has tasked itself to accelerate the
fielding of FLRAA
as part of a
newly debuted transformation initiative
And although accelerating any significant acquisition initiative involves considerable risk, the Army aviation leadership along with Textron’s Bell division decided to proceed.
The company selected to construct the service’s entirely new cutting-edge tiltrotor technology.
, say the program is unique in the sense that significant risk was driven down through digital design, engineering and a
In a technology demonstration initiative, it featured the V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft.
for over 200 hours.
Poquette explained, “Typically, you start with prototyping and subsequently move on to testing.” He continued, “During this testing phase, your focus isn’t primarily on construction; instead, it involves assessing the aircraft’s performance. Additionally, you compile extensive technical data and findings prior to making a Milestone C production approval.”
Usually, programs undergo testing with prototypes for about two years before making production decisions.
“They won’t be speeding up the testing process. They also won’t rush the design phase,” he stated. “These stages are already quite condensed; however, they could potentially accept some level of risk and proceed with building aircraft even as tests continue.”
With the test effort going on in the background with the eight prototypes that will have already been built, Bell would begin building production aircraft, he said.
In 2027, the Army plans to make an early production decision ahead of Milestone C. The service is able to do so because there is already an option built into the current contract with Bell to exercise a low-rate production lot.
Although concurrency—wherein a program opts to develop systems prior to completing and validating the final design through the testing phase—has often resulted in delays and, at times, project failures, both Bell and the Army believe that this instance will be an exception.
Poquette mentioned that Bell informed the Army they have “great confidence” in their digital engineering efforts, adding that even though perfection might not be achieved, the result will likely be very near to flawless.
This represents a progression from our prototype phase to early production of aircraft that closely resemble what will be ultimately delivered,” stated Ryan Ehinger, Bell’s FLRAA program manager. “This marks another step forward as we move beyond the [Joint Multirole Technology Demonstrator], which was essentially a single demonstration unit. Since then, we have focused on refining our manufacturing processes using various cutting-edge technologies and methods.
In addition, Bell constructs essential parts such as the wings, blades, and gearboxes, he mentioned.
He mentioned that their manufacturing technology center has been working on refining several of these designs for many years.
The Army intends to expedite the process of putting equipment into widespread use by aiming for full-rate production within four to five years instead of the usual seven to eight years.
“Poiquest explained that what they’re requesting from Bell is quicker capacity expansion to achieve full-scale manufacturing,” he stated. “This would enable them to obtain a company one year ahead of schedule, a battalion 18 months sooner, and simultaneously accelerate the deployment of two battalions by 30 months.”
Although the initial operational testing was scheduled for late FY31, the Army might advance into this stage sooner due to having pre-built aircraft available, as stated by Poquette.
The IOT&E might start during the fiscal years 2028 or 2029.
