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Tucked away in Bell Helicopter’s chalet is a mock-up of its V-280 next-generation tiltrotor, which Bell is pinning its hopes on as the future of vertical lift.
Intended for the US Army’s future vertical lift – technology demonstrator effort, Bell hopes the Valor will eventually be selected for all the US services.
However, it has brought the mock-up to Farnborough – its international debut – to show to potential export customers.
“We are not looking for this to be only a US product, and we would welcome the opportunity for this to be developed with US and international partners,” says Vince Tobin, vice-president of advanced tiltrotor systems.
However, Tobin admits: “Ultimately that is a US government decision.”
It also rests on the US Department of Defense selecting the V-280 for the Joint Multi-Role requirement, although Tobin is “completely confident” of that outcome. The type’s maiden sortie is scheduled for September 2017 and the test article is under construction in Amarillo, Texas.
Source: Flight Daily News
