US Marine Corps leaders are lobbying on behalf of Bell's Quad Tiltrotor (QTR) heavylift rotorcraft concept, as the service prepares to form the first operational tiltrotor units.
The USMC has no near-term requirement for the QTR, but is encouraging the US Army to consider the concept for a joint-service heavylift requirement now, in the early stages of formulation. The four-proprotor QTR is roughly the size of a stretched Lockheed Martin C-130-30 Hercules and uses components from the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor.
"The US Army is very interested in a larger version of the V-22," says Marine Corps commandant Gen James Jones speaking at the show. "If the army gets involved, the navy should take a look. It would revolutionise sea-based logistics. A C-130-sized aircraft on the deck would expand the capability and sustainability of the force," he says.
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded Bell Phase One of a three-phase, $6 million, cost-sharing contract to study the feasibility and test models of the QTR. Under the initial $400,000 study, the company will determine the technology roadmap to meet service requirements.
DARPA has authorised work to begin on Phase Two, which will involve test of a 1/14th-scale hovering model of the QTR. If approved, Phase Three will consist of windtunnel tests to collect data needed to computer-model the aircraft in the cruise mode.
No funding has been identified to develop and produce the QTR. "The technology is not a risk," says Jones. "It's a question of committing the resources." With funding, Bell says it could start building the first QTR prototype in 2002 and begin production deliveries as early as 2010.
Gen Fred McCorkle, vice chief of staff for aviation, says the QTR is an option to replace Marine Corps Sikorsky CH-53E heavylift helicopters when they come up for retirement in 10-15 years. Another option is an uprated V-22 with increased lift capability, he says.
The USMC is already studying the feasibility of replacing both its Bell AH-1Z and UH-1Y helicopters with a single tiltrotor smaller than the V-22. The service is "interested and excited" by the possibility of combining the characteristics of a small command and control aircraft and an attack aircraft in a single dual-mission airframe, says Jones.
Such an aircraft would be fast enough to keep up with the V-22, says McCorkle, who believes a variant of the civil Bell/Agusta 609 will be chosen for the tiltrotor escort mission. The upgraded AH-1Z and UH-1Y are still under development, so their replacement is at least 15 years away. This would coincide will the run-down of V-22 production, he says.
Source: Flight International
