Advanced Tiltrotor To Offer Significant Increase In Capabilities, According To Bell Helicopter

Bell Helicopter has begin major assembly on the Bell V-280 Valor fuselage.

“Spirit AeroSystems brings decades of composite manufacturing experience to the team which allows us to quickly build an aircraft like the V-280,” said Phil Anderson, Spirit AeroSystems senior vice president of Defense. “This is a major milestone for the technology demonstrator unit. Spirit AeroSystems is proud to be on Team Valor and we are excited to be designing and building the composite cabin and cockpit for the V-280.”

“U.S. ground forces require significant increase in speed and range to operate against and strike adversary systems much deeper than existing platforms,” said Mitch Snyder, executive vice president of Military Business for Bell Helicopter. “That is the vision for Future Vertical Lift. The V-280 advanced technology tiltrotor provides the Department of Defense (DoD) with unmatched speed, range and payload for expeditionary maneuver to win these future conflicts. We are confident in the capability that the V-280 will provide, and we are proud to have Spirit AeroSystems adding their expertise to Team Valor and to the V-280. Spirit AeroSystems beginning major assembly on the V-280 fuselage brings this high-performance aircraft one step closer to completion.”

The delivery of the first V-280 fuselage to the Bell Helicopter facility in Amarillo, Texas, is expected later this year. First flight of the V-280 Technology Demonstrator is anticipated in the second half of 2017.

(Image provided by Bell Helicopter)

FMI: www.bellhelicopter.com