Bell V-280 Valor

The Bell V-280 Valor provides warfighters strategic options, operational reach, tactical agility and overmatch at the point of decision. The Bell V-280 Valor design supports ground maneuver and is purpose built for the squad plus enablers. Safe and survivable, the design features integrated cabin armor, fly-by-wire component redundancy, state of the art countermeasures and performance. Bell’s design to build technology used on the V-280 Valor significantly enhances manufacturing, assembly, and sustainability, while greatly reducing the total cost of ownership. Advanced tiltrotor speed and range provides commanders access not currently available.

With more than twice the speed and range of current helicopter platforms, the Bell V-280 Valor provides access to get to the objective while providing superior agility at the objective. Team Valor’s mission equipment package enables enroute situational understanding through digitally fused reconnaissance, surveillance, intelligence and friendly force information. Airborne battle boards bring fused data and mission updates to the cabin for real-time tracking. The V-280 will provide technology overmatch at an affordable price point.

The U.S. Army science and technology community is charting the future of military vertical lift aviation that will enable warfighters to accomplish missions not possible today. The Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center, or AMRDEC, one of seven centers and laboratories that make up the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, also known as RDECOM, is leading the S&T effort.

The tiltrotor V-280 Valor aircraft is Bell Helicopter's vision of the future as it prepares for flight demonstrations for the Army in 2017. The first flight of the next generation tiltrotor is scheduled for the second half of 2017. The V-280 tiltrotor will provide unmatched speed, range and payload, along with unmatched agility at the objective. The aircraft will provide the best value in operations and maintenance costs, and is being designed with sustainability, affordability, and ease of manufacturing in mind.

Bell Helicopter is the world’s tiltrotor expert with 55 years of experience and critical, proprietary expertise in rotor systems, drive systems, and sophisticated fly-by-wire technologies. In April 2013, Bell Helicopter revealed its offering – the Bell V-280 Valor, a third generation tiltrotor for the JMR-TD program. The Bell V-280’s unmatched speed, range and payload, operational agility, and low speed maneuverability provide transformational reach and revolutionary capability.

The Bell V-280 Valor builds upon proven tiltrotor technology to deliver unmatched speed, range and payload with the agility to perform a multitude of missions unachievable with today’s conventional helicopter. Its clean-sheet design reduces complexity and improves reliability, maintainability and sustainability while reducing total ownerships costs.

The Bell V-280 is a combat force multiplier with superior performance, survivability, and reliability to give the warfighter the decisive advantage. The Bell V-280 Valor will deliver a number of transformational features and capabilities.

With more than twice the speed and range, the Valor will offer maneuver commanders unmatched operational agility to self-deploy and perform a multitude of vertical lift missions unachievable with current aircraft. The Bell Helicopter design, which is called the V-280 Valor, is an advanced tilt-rotor design that is based upon technology similar to the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey. The new tilt-rotor is smaller, faster and much more maneuverable than the Osprey and has a top speed of over 300 knots. The clean-sheet design of the Bell V-280 Valor creates the capability to fly twice the range at double the speed of any existing helicopter. The V-280’s tiltrotor technology leverages vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capability into a strategic and tactical advantage for battle planning.