Bell, Sikorsky-Boeing Team Awarded Army Future Assault Aircraft Demo, Risk Reduction Contracts

The U.S. Army has awarded contracts to Textron’s (NYSE: TXT) Bell subsidiary and a team of Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Lockheed Martin’s (NYSE: LMT) Sikorsky business to proceed with the competitive demonstration and risk reduction effort for the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft program, Defense News reported Monday.

The companies will come up with trade studies using model-based systems engineering, a review of the requirements’ feasibility and initial conceptual designs under the CDRR initiative, which will consist of two one-year phases.

The service plans to kick off the FLRAA competition in 2022 and deploy the first unit by 2030.

Bell and the Sikorsky-Boeing team built their V-280 Valor tilt-rotor demonstrator and SB-1 Defiant helicopter, respectively, under the Joint Multi Role Technology Demonstration effort to help inform the FLRAA program meant to replace the service’s UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

“The CD&RR continues to transition technologies from the JMR-TD effort to the FLRAA weapons system design,” Patrick Mason, aviation program executive officer at the Army, said in a statement. “We will be conducting analysis to refine the requirements, conceptual designs, and acquisition approach. Ultimately, this information and industry feedback are vital to understanding the performance, cost, affordability, schedule risks and trades needed to successfully execute the FLRAA program.”

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