ATLANTA—Bell Helicopter Textron [TXT] achieved a major milestone in its V-280 tilt rotor aircraft development on April 21 when it mated the wing to the fuselage.
Bell Director of Advanced Tilt Rotor Systems Steve Mathias told Defense Daily Saturday the production milestone means the company is about 50 percent through the process of building the first V-280, which Bell is developing for the Army’s Joint Multi-Role (JMR) tech demonstrator program. The V-280, in its utility version, is still on track for first flight in September 2017, Mathias said here at the Army Aviation Association of America convention.
JMR, an Army initiative for advancing rotorcraft technologies, is a key program as it will inform the Future Vertical Lift (FVL) effort. Using lessons learned from JMR, the Army plans to use FVL to replace the service’s entire helicopter fleet with a family of new aircraft. In addition to Bell’s V-280, Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] Sikorsky and Boeing [BA] are teaming to offer the SB>1 Defiant for JMR. Sikorsky and Boeing expect to begin final assembly of SB>1 this summer.
Bell anticipates a number of key V-280 milestones moving forward. Company spokesman Andy Woodward said Monday the next major step is the installation of dynamic components like gearboxes in the fourth quarter of this year. Woodward also said a tethered ground run, where the V-280 is chained to the ground and its engines powered, would take place in April 2017. He said the ground run also ensures the hydraulic and electric systems fire in the proper order. Mathias said installing the V-280’s General Electric [GE] T64-GE-419 engines into the aircraft’s nacelles would take place soon.
Mathias said a material development decision (MDD) could take place in October. A MDD is a mandatory review that serves as the formal entry point into the acquisition process. Mathias also said he believes Bell Helicopter could go through its Milestone B decision in 2019 as the company is far enough along in V-280 development. But that decision is up to the Army, which Mathias said is planning for a Milestone A decision in 2019. Milestone B marks the end of the technology maturation and risk reduction phase by recommending, or seeking approval, to enter the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase.
The V-280 will have top speed of more than 280 knots true airspeed (KTAS) with a range of more than 800 nautical miles (nm). It will be capable of flying at altitudes above 25,000 feet while loitering for more than four hours and hovering for more than two hours. The V-280 will hold 12 passengers and carry 10,500 pounds of external payload.