To Bell With It …
On 05 December 2022, in a controversial decision disparaged by many in the aerospace and defense communities, Bell’s V-280 Valor tiltrotor beat out the joint Sikorsky-Boeing Defiant X coaxial rigid rotor helicopter—thereby winning the U.S. Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) contract. On 19 April 2023, Sikorsky and parent company Lockheed-Martin stated they harbor no intentions of filing a lawsuit protesting Bell Helicopters’ receipt of the potentially $7-billion FLRAA contract.