Bell V-280 Valor wins FLRAA Black Hawk replacement contract
The Bell V-280 Valor design builds on the company’s experience in designing and producing the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor. (Photo: Bell Textron)
The US Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) contract awarded to Bell marks the US Army’s largest helicopter procurement in 40 years. Here is everything you need to know about the programme.
The US Army has made its decision in the competition to build the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA), the service's largest rotorcraft procurement in 40 years.
The initial award for this element of Future Vertical Lift (FVL) capability is worth up to $1.3 billion and the V-280 design is set to replace around 2,000 Black Hawk utility helicopters from 2030.
FLRAA does not serve as a one-to-one replacement for the Black Hawk - it will take over the roles the Black Hawk carries out.
The US Army tasked industry to start developing solutions for an FVL capability that could operate in the 2030s and
Already have an account? Log in
Want to keep reading this article?
More from Air Warfare
-
![Teal Drones delivers first Black Widows as parent company reports six-month loss]()
Teal Drones delivers first Black Widows as parent company reports six-month loss
In July 2025 Teal Drones was awarded Tranche 2 of the US Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance (SRR) programme for a small uncrewed aerial system (sUAS).
-
![Planned Singapore fighter detachment in Guam scrapped]()
Planned Singapore fighter detachment in Guam scrapped
Singapore’s Ministry of Defence said the decision to discontinue discussions on the fighter training detachment was mutually agreed with the US.
-
![India fast-tracks indigenous MALE drones as US trade rift stalls big-ticket deals]()
India fast-tracks indigenous MALE drones as US trade rift stalls big-ticket deals
With US tariffs and stalled defence talks slowing imports, India has cleared a $3.4 billion plan for 87 tri‑service MALE UAVs with 60% indigenous content – accelerating self‑reliance as operational lessons from May’s four‑day conflict drive urgency.
-
![Poland confirms US$3.8 billion F-16V upgrade]()
Poland confirms US$3.8 billion F-16V upgrade
The Mid-Life Upgrade agreement comes as Poland makes significant increases in its defence spend as its plans to increase it to 5% of GDP by 2026.
