U.S Army Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA)

[Ayoshi]

https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/03/16/army-selects-companies-to-continue-on-in-long-range-assault-aircraft-competition/

WASHINGTON — The Army has selected Bell and Sikorsky to enter into a competitive demonstration and risk reduction effort ahead of the start of the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, or FLRAA, program of record.

The service is on a tight timeline to field a new long-range assault aircraft by 2030. The CDRR will consist of two phases that will last roughly one year each.

The companies will deliver initial conceptual designs, an assessment of the feasibility of requirements and trade studies using model-based systems engineering. The competition for the program of record will begin in 2022 with a plan to field the first unit equipped in 2030.

Congress added $76 million in funding to the aircraft program’s top line in fiscal 2020 to drive down technical risk and speed up delivery. The money, which Congress approved as part of its FY20 appropriations bill signed into law in December, will fund the CDRR effort.

The Army completed its Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstration, or JMR TD, for which Bell and the Sikorsky-Boeing team each built aircraft to help the service understand what is possible for a future aircraft — mainly to replace the UH-60 Black Hawk.

[Ayoshi]

https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2020/3/17/army-future-longrange-assault-agreements-total-million

JUST IN: Army Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft Agreements Total $181 Million
3/17/2020

The Army’s recently awarded other transaction authority agreements for the future long-range assault aircraft add up to $181 million, officials said March 17.

On March 16, the service announced it had selected Bell Textron and a Sikorsky-Boeing team for the FLRAA competitive demonstration and risk reduction effort, which will be held prior to a program of record competition. Under the OTAs, the companies will deliver initial conceptual designs, requirements feasibility and trade studies using model-based systems engineering, according to the Army.

Army photos

[Ayoshi]

https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/avx-aircraft-studying-coaxial-tiltrotor-capabilities-for-us-army-flraa

03 July 2020
AVX Aircraft studying coaxial, tiltrotor capabilities for US Army FLRAA

AVX’s coaxial rotor platform design features dual ducted fans, which the company offered for its Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft-Competitive Prototype (FARA-CP) offering. This coaxial aircraft design also has a rear ramp, fast rope hardpoints, and a highly flexible mission cargo or troop compartment.

Goodman said AVX is using this two-platform approach for its study because the US Army’s size requirement for FLRAA is in a mid-class category. The service, he said, desires the aircraft to be a tiltrotor in some ways and a coaxial in others. The FLRAA aircraft will be larger than the FARA-CP platform.

The coaxial will provide much more lifting power while the tiltrotor would provide the speed that the customer desires. The tiltrotor, accordingly, will require more power to achieve these higher speeds.

An artist’s illustration of the coaxial compound rotor aircraft AVX Aircraft is studying for the US Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) competition. The company is also studying tiltrotor technology. (AVX)