Bell Textron has announced the selection of a site in Fort Worth, Texas, to house the component production works of the US Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program.
The FLRAA is a continuing initiative to fill gaps in the force’s vertical takeoff and landing capabilities once its more than 3,000 UH-60 Black Hawk and AH-64 Apache helicopters are fully retired.
Modification and equipment installation at the 44,373-square-foot (4,122-square-meter) Texas center is now ongoing to reach readiness as the broader aircraft strategy comes into low-rate initial production by 2028 with about 520 full-time employees, according to local news agency WFAA.
“Bell is committed to establishing future manufacturing locations to deliver the first fielded aircraft by the early 2030s and do our part to revolutionize US Army aviation,” Bell CEO and President Lisa Atherton stated.
“This facility also represents a strong economic partnership with the State of Texas, the City of Fort Worth, Northwest ISD, and Denton County. Their support has made it possible for Bell to significantly expand our footprint in North Texas and provide revolutionary capability to our nation’s warfighters.”
FLRAA Progress
The US Army tapped Bell to further develop its V-280 Valor tiltrotor as the FLRAA program’s primary system in December 2022.
The firm received approval to move forward to the aircraft’s prototyping phase in August 2024.
Bell then selected a separate stage in Wichita, Kansas, for the V-280’s fuselage assembly this month.
This and the component factory in Texas will work synchronously with the company’s advanced composite hub Fort Worth and final airframe assembly in Amarillo throughout the FLRAA’s production by the end of the decade.
Among the program’s subcontractors include Integris for armor systems, General Electric for avionics, Safran for generators, Astronics for electrical power and distribution, Eaton for hydraulics, and CAE for flight simulators.
US Army’s Valor Aircraft
The V-280 Valor will have an overall length of 51 feet (16 meters) and a main propeller diameter of 35 feet (11 meters).
It will be fitted with two Rolls-Royce AE turboshaft engines for a maximum speed of 280 knots (322 miles/519 kilometers per hour), a range of 2,100 nautical miles (2,417 miles/3,889 kilometers), and a service ceiling of 6,000 feet (1,829 meters).
