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The U.S. Military has chosen the Bell V-280 Valor as its next-generation assault plane. Picture courtesy of U.S. Military/YouTube
Dec. 6 (UPI) — A Texas firm has gained a profitable contract to construct a fleet of next-generation transport and assault helicopters for the U.S. Military in a deal that might in the end be value round $70 billion.
Bell Textron Inc., an aerospace producer based mostly in Fort Price, will get $1.3 billion to part out roughly 2,000 Black Hawk utility helicopters and about 1,200 Apache assault helicopters by 2030 as a part of the Future Lengthy-Vary Assault Plane initiative.
The brand new choppers, whose prototypes have been in growth for a number of years, are amongst many upgrades the U.S. armed companies is making to modernize its ageing fleet.
From there, the value tag has the potential to develop to as much as $70 billion if the Military purchases the “full complement” of plane over time, in accordance with Military Maj. Gen. Rob Barrie.
“That is our largest and most complicated aggressive procurement we’ve executed within the Military within the … historical past of Military aviation,” Barrie stated earlier this yr. “That system goes to be with us a very long time; it goes with out saying that we wish to be sure every little thing is finished appropriately and in a disciplined method.”
The contract is the most important awarded by the U.S. Military in additional than 40 years.
The brand new fleet will take the place of Black Hawks which are at present in operation.
The Black Hawk is the Military’s major chopper to maneuver troops on and off the battlefield, whereas the Apache helicopter launches assaults throughout fight.
Bell’s chief government Scott Donnelly issued a press release on Monday saying the corporate is “honored that the U.S. Military has chosen the Bell V-280 Valor as its next-generation assault plane. We intend to honor that belief by constructing a really outstanding and transformational weapon system to satisfy the Military’s mission necessities.”
One of many major goals of the FLRAA is to construct a nimble, long-range strike force able to touring greater than 2,800 miles with out refueling.
“This … represents a strategic pivot for Military Aviation to the transformational velocity and vary our Military must dominate future battlefields,” stated Maj. Gen. Walter Rugen, director of the Future Vertical Carry Cross-Useful Group. “The prototyping and risk-reduction efforts allowed the Military to considerably cut back the time wanted to get to immediately’s announcement.”
The Military can also be planning to construct a Future Assault Reconnaissance Plane to extend aerial scouting missions which were scaled again because the navy retired the Kiowa helicopter in 2013.
Earlier than awarding the contract to Bell, the Military examined the V-280 Valor, which options twin propellers on tilting rotors, towards Boeing’s coaxial rotor Defiant X, as each are just like the Black Hawk in measurement and construct.
The Black Hawk helicopter was popularized within the 2001 movie “Black Hawk Down,” which was based mostly on the shock assault on U.S. forces in Somalia in 1993.
Earlier this yr, the Military grounded its complete fleet of 400 Chinook helicopters after it was found that gas leaks had been liable for a small variety of engine fires on the utility chopper.
