The Army has decided that either Sikorsky (LMT) or Bell (TXT) or both will be the primary vendors for its Future Vertical Lift manned aircraft programs.
Right on time, the Army has down selected to two competitors for its Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) requirement by awarding contracts to Sikorsky (LMT) and Bell (TXT) to build prototypes of the scout aircraft and fly them by September 2022.
- Based on prototype performance, the Army plans to further down select to one production contractor in mid-2023 and commence fielding of production aircraft in 2028.
- The Army wants the final aircraft to cost less than $30M each and could procure 300-500 aircraft for a potential total program value of more than $15B for the final winner. Both designs will use General Electric's T901 Improved Turbine Engine provided as Government Furnished Equipment.
- The two companies were down selected to build prototypes from five companies which had been awarded design contracts in April 2019. Designs from BA, AVX/LLL and Karem Aircraft were not selected.
- Sikorsky has been flying its S-97 Raider, a company-funded prototype of its unique coaxial rotor/ push propeller combination design that is slightly smaller than the final proposed "Raider X", for a number of years. The Bell proposal is a lower risk, more conventional design based on its commercial Bell 525 technology that has yet to be built and flown. Advantage: Sikorsky.
Just eight days ago, basically the same two companies were awarded contracts to perform Competitive Design and Risk Reduction of their flying prototypes for the Army's massive Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) the eventual replacement for over 3,000 H60s beginning in 2030, about two years after FARA begins fielding.
- Sikorsky is partnered with Boeing to build its SB-1 "Defiant" which is an upscaling of the same coaxial rotor/ push prop design Sikorsky is proposing for the FARA competition. Bell is offering its V-280 tiltrotor which has been flying for about a year longer than the SB-1. Advantage: Bell.
The Future Vertical Lift cross functional team is the Army's number three of six priorities in its long term modernization plan and is robustly funded and supported by the Army. The following screen capture of the Army's budget exhibit shows the funding plan for the development of FLRAA (shown as B47: Future Vertical Lift) and FARA . LMT and Bell are now the prime competitors for the bulk of this funding.
