Bell contracts Moog for FLRAA V-280 Valor sub-assemblies
Bell's V-280 will take over duties performed by the venerable Black Hawk utility helicopter. (Photo: Bell)
Moog has been placed under contract by Bell Textron to supply flight control content for the US Army's Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA), the Bell V-280 Valor.
Under the contract Moog will provide Bell with flight control computers and an active force feel inceptor system for the cockpit controls, as well as power converter units, and elements of the hydraulics.
In addition, the company will provide major control surfaces such as ruddervator and flaperon actuators which control the tail and wing; swashplate actuators which control rotor blade pitch; and pylon conversion actuators which rotate the pylon from VTOL to airplane mode.
The contract initially funds core design and development activities through the Middle Tier Acquisition phase of the programme and Moog has been working with Bell on the V-280 for the past decade.
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The initial award 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.
Unlike the Boeing V-22, another tilt-rotor aircraft, the V-280’s two engines will remain in place while the rotors and drive shafts tilt. The aircraft has retractable landing gear and the wings are made of single-piece carbon fibre. It will also feature a triple-redundant fly-by-wire control system.
With a crew of four, the V-280 will be able to carry 14 combat-equipped soldiers who enter the aircraft through two 1.82m doors on either side of the fuselage.
The V-280 will have a cruise speed of at least 280kt, an effective combat range of almost 1,500km, and be able to self-deploy over a distance of 3,890km.
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