1. Development
    Prototype 

2. Design

3. Specifications

4. See also

5. References

6. External links

The Bell V-280 Valor is a tiltrotor aircraft being developed by Bell and Lockheed Martin for the United States Army's Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program.^[2] The aircraft was officially unveiled at the 2013 Army Aviation Association of America's (AAAA) Annual Professional Forum and Exposition in Fort Worth, Texas. The V-280 made its first flight on 18 December 2017 in Amarillo, Texas.^[3]

Development

On 5 June 2013, Bell Helicopter announced that the V-280 Valor design had been selected by the US Army for the Joint Multi-Role (JMR) Technology Demonstrator (TD) phase. The JMR-TD phase is the technology demonstration precursor to Future Vertical Lift (FVL). The Army classified the offering as a Category I proposal, meaning it is a well-conceived, scientifically or technically sound proposal pertinent to program goals and objectives with applicability to Army mission needs, offered by a responsible contractor with the competent scientific and technical staff supporting resources required to achieve results.^[4] JMR-TD contracts were expected to be awarded in September 2013, with flights scheduled for 2017.^[5]

On 9 September 2013, Bell announced it would partner with Lockheed Martin to develop the V-280. Lockheed will provide integrated avionics, sensors, and weapons to the aircraft. Additional partners were announced in the following months,^[2] including Moog Inc. for the flight control systems,^[6] GE Aviation for the engines,^[7] GKN for the tail structure,^[8] Spirit AeroSystems for the composite fuselage,^[9] Eaton Corporation as the distributor of hydraulics and power generation systems,^[10] and Astronics Advanced Electric Systems to design and manufacture power distribution systems.^[11] Israel Aerospace Industries, the first international partner recruited for the V-280, will supply the nacelle structures, and Textron sister company TRU Simulation & Training will build a high-fidelity marketing simulator and desktop maintenance trainer.^[12]

On 2 October 2013, the U.S. Army awarded a technology investment agreement to Bell for the V-280 Valor tiltrotor under the Joint Multi-Role program.^[13] Awards were also given to AVX Aircraft, Karem Aircraft, and a Sikorsky-Boeing team. The JMR program is not intended to develop a prototype for the next family of vehicles, but to develop technologies and interfaces. The TIAs give the four teams nine months to complete preliminary design of their rotorcraft, which the Army will then review and authorize the construction of two competing demonstrators to fly in 2017. While there is a potential for an early downselect, the four teams are focused on the 2017 flight demonstrations.^[14][15] Each of the four teams received $6.5 million from the Army for phase I of the program, although Bell is investing an undisclosed amount of its own money.^[16] On 21 October 2013, Bell unveiled the first full-scale mock-up of the V-280 Valor at Association of the United States Army 2013.^[17]

On 11 August 2014, the Army informed the Bell-Lockheed team that they had chosen the V-280 Valor to continue with the JMR demonstration program. The Boeing-Sikorsky team offering the SB-1 Defiant was also chosen.^[18] Announcement of the selections was officially made on 3 October 2014, and the teams will begin building technology demonstration aircraft for test flights beginning in 2017.^[19] Bell unveiled a full-scale mock-up of the V-280 Valor on the floor at AUSA 2014 to showcase the configuration and design of the high-speed platform. It is focused on the infantry squad and is to handle much like a helicopter in terms of low-speed agility to have unprecedented pitch, roll, and yaw response for those operations. Roughly the size of the current medium-lift helicopter, the V-280 is designed to travel twice as fast and twice as far. Bell is pitching these capabilities for movement over vast areas like the Pacific; the program director said the need for forward arming and refueling points could be eliminated and that one FOB (forward operating base) in the middle of a country, such as Afghanistan, could cover the entire country.^[20]

Although Bell sold its share in the AW609 program in 2011, Bell continues to work on the AW609 and considers commercial potential for the V-280, as a military mass production of 2-4,000 aircraft could reduce unit cost to commercially acceptable levels.^[21][22] However in 2016, Bell stated that it preferred the 609 for commercial use, and intended to offer the V-280 for military use only. Bell also stated that conventional helicopters were not part of Bell's military future.^[23]

Prototype

In June 2015, Bell's subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems began assembly of the composite fuselage for the first prototype V-280 Valor,^[24] which was delivered in September 2015.^[25] In total, the design and manufacturing of the fuselage was completed in only 22 months.^[26] Although the V-280 is initially planned for the JMR demonstration program, Bell does not anticipate much difference between it and a final FVL entry.^[27] By January 2016, the V-280 demonstrator was 23 percent complete,^[28] with the fuselage and wings mated together in early May 2016.^[29] The demonstrator aircraft began ground vibration testing in Amarillo during February 2017, with the aircraft reaching 95 percent complete.^[30]

The demonstrator was undergoing ground testing in October 2017.^[31][32] Bell released a video on 18 December showing the first flight with the area around the pivots blurred.^[33] In April 2018, it has run for 75 hours on the ground and flown for 19 hours, up to {{convert|80|knot|mph km/h|-1|}}, before transitioning to airplane flight by the end of the month.^[34] By the end of the month, it attained {{cvt|140|kn|mph km/h}} with proprotors 60-deg. forward, and is planned to reach its airplane cruise configuration with horizontal pylons in summer.^[35] It reached {{cvt|190|kn|mph km/h||}} in cruise mode with horizontal propellers on 11 May.^[36]

After 155 hours of rotor turn time and 70 flight hours, by October 2018 it had reached {{cvt|250|kn|mph km/h}} at 80% proprotor cruise speed.
|ref= bellflight.com,^[48] militaryfactory.com^[49]
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See also

• Future Vertical Lift
• AgustaWestland AW609

• Bell XV-15
• Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey

• Sikorsky–Boeing SB-1 Defiant

References

External links

• Bell V-280 Valor web page
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20130426034701/http://www.bellhelicopter.com/cf/ceoBlog.cfm Bell Helicopter - CEO Blog (archived)]
• [https://theaviationist.com/2017/08/30/here-are-the-first-images-of-the-first-bell-v-280-valor-next-generation-tilt-rotor-aircraft-prototype/ Images of the First Bell V-280 Valor on theaviationist.com]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O3Onyas984 Bell V-280 Valor on YouTube]

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