Tag Archives: Textron Inc.

Air

Bahrain AH-1Z

March 1, 2023 Dmitry Shulgin

Bell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc. company, has completed the AH-1Z Program of Record (POR) for the Kingdom of Bahrain. Bell delivered the final production aircraft to Naval Air Systems Command in December of 2022. The first Bahrain AH-1Zs made their in-country debut during the Bahrain Air Show and six have been delivered in country. The final six helicopters will be prepared for shipment to Bahrain with the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) before being transported to Bahrain in 2023.

«Congratulations to the Kingdom of Bahrain on obtaining the latest generation of the AH-1Zs», said Mike Deslatte, Bell vice president and H-1 program director. «As a leader in the region, Bahrain’s defensive capabilities will be further bolstered by the advanced technologies of the AH-1Z Viper».

The completion of the Bahrain AH-1Z Viper program of record comes on the heels of Bell completing the U.S. Marine Corps program of record, signifying two major H-1 production milestones in one year. The AH-1Z Viper is Bell’s newest generation of dedicated attack helicopters manufactured by Bell. The U.S. Marine Corps currently operates the AH-1Z Viper around the world, taking advantage of the minimal logistics requirements for shipboard and expeditionary operations.

«Capabilities are only part of the equation when it comes to modernizing an aircraft fleet», Deslatte added. «By ensuring the aircraft can operate with minimal logistics support, the AH-1Z Viper enables leaders to react with greater speed and agility to rapidly evolving operations».

Bell continues to work with Kingdom of Bahrain on post-shipping inspections and re-assembly to guarantee configuration as defined in the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case. In addition to manufacturing and delivering the new AH-1Z Vipers, Bell will support the lifecycle of the aircraft to ensure reliability, survivability and lethality on the modern battlefield.

AH-1Z — Continues production of Foreign Military Sales Aircraft

Navy

Cottonmouth

December 13, 2022 Dmitry Shulgin

Textron Systems Corporation, a Textron Inc. company, on 08 December 2022 announced the delivery of Cottonmouth, a vehicle purpose-built for the U.S. Marine Corps’ Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV) program. The hand-off of the prototype vehicle occurred 01 December 2022 at the Nevada Automotive Test Center (NATC) in Silver Springs, Nevada.

Created to serve as a Naval Sensor Node supporting expeditionary operations, the Cottonmouth vehicle provides lightweight multi-modal capability for the Marines, consistent with the service’s Force Design 2030 vision. A multi-domain command and control suite integrated into the vehicle as part of the Command, Control, Communication and Computers Unmanned Aerial Systems (C4UAS) Mission Role Variant allows it to coordinate data and serve as the quarterback, or battlefield manager, for the modern battlefield. The amphibious 6×6 platform is equipped for sustained reconnaissance with organic unmanned systems capabilities and multi-spectrum sensors which provide seamless communication between the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

The Cottonmouth vehicle’s smaller footprint allows rapid transport of four vehicles on a Ship-to-Shore Connector (LCAC-100). Supporting the mission of a mobile scout vehicle, the easy-to-deploy platform swims in open ocean and navigates littoral water obstacles such as bays, estuaries, rivers, light surf and handles any terrain.

«Our Cottonmouth vehicle is a completely clean-sheet design that provides transformative reconnaissance capabilities and meets Marine Corps requirements», said David Phillips, Senior Vice President, Land and Sea Systems. «The vehicle was designed from its inception by listening to customer requirements. Because of its smaller size, the Marines can quickly deploy next generational combat power to the fight and lets commanders meet any mission anywhere».

The prototype is the second iteration of the vehicle informed by lessons learned from an original Alpha prototype vehicle and approximately 3,000 miles/4,828 km of testing. Textron Systems’ Cottonmouth vehicle has completed contractor verification testing of its mobility, swim capability, vetronics integration and C4UAS mission capabilities. In addition to delivery of the fully integrated ARV platform, the company also delivered a blast hull to the Aberdeen Test Center and a Systems Integration Lab (SIL) to the Naval Information Warfare Center-Atlantic, both of which have been undergoing government evaluation and testing. The prototype vehicle now enters its formal government evaluation phase, expected to last through 2023.

Air

V-280 Valor

December 10, 2022 Dmitry Shulgin

Textron Inc announced on December 5, 2022 that Bell Textron Inc., a Textron company, has been awarded the development contract for the U.S. Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program. The award is based on Bell’s V-280 Valor tiltrotor that was developed and tested as part of the Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR TD) program that began in 2013. The V-280 progressed through design, manufacturing, and more than three years of rigorous flight testing that provided extensive data validating the technical and operational advantages of the aircraft for the long-range assault mission.

«We are honored that the U.S. Army has selected the Bell V-280 Valor as its next-generation assault aircraft», said Scott C. Donnelly, Textron’s chairman and chief executive officer. «We intend to honor that trust by building a truly remarkable and transformational weapon system to meet the Army’s mission requirements. We are excited to play an important role in the future of Army Aviation».

«This is an exciting time for the U.S. Army, Bell, and Team Valor as we modernize the Army’s aviation capabilities for decades to come», said Mitch Snyder, president and CEO of Bell. «Bell has a long history supporting Army Aviation and we are ready to equip Soldiers with the speed and range they need to compete and win using the most mature, reliable, and affordable high-performance long-range assault weapon system in the world».

This award builds on a decade of the V-280 Valor’s progress through design, manufacturing, and thorough testing to demonstrate that this aircraft will deliver on the FLRAA program requirements. Bell and its industry partners have systematically validated the V-280 aircraft and their modular open systems approach in collaboration with the Army.

«For the past several years the Bell team demonstrated the exceptional operational capabilities, digital thread synergies, and platform affordability enhancements the V-280 provides», said Keith Flail, executive vice president, Advanced Vertical Lift Systems at Bell. «Bell stands ready with our world-class manufacturing facilities to apply our nearly seven decades of tiltrotor expertise to deliver a modern FLRAA fleet to the Army».

The initial contract refines the weapon system design, sustainment, digital enterprise, manufacturing, systems integration, flight-testing, and airworthiness qualification.

V-280 Valor — The V-280’s unmatched combination of proven tiltrotor technology coupled with innovative digital engineering and an open architecture offers the Army outstanding operational versatility for its vertical lift fleet

Air, Air Force, Unmanned Systems

HSVTOL aircraft

September 23, 2022 Dmitry Shulgin

Bell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc. company, announced on September 19, 2022 it has entered into a teaming agreement with Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), a global aerospace and national security company, for Bell’s High-Speed Vertical Takeoff and Landing (HSVTOL) aircraft. As part of the collaboration, SNC will specifically support the design and development of mission systems for HSVTOL variants.

Bell’s HSVTOL vehicles blend the hover capability of a helicopter with the speed, range and survivability features of fighter aircraft, with low downwash hover capability and jet-like speeds of more than 400 kts/460 mph/741 km/h. This family of scalable aircraft concepts is designed to carry out USAF and USSOCOM missions across the full spectrum of conflict and political scenarios, including personnel recovery, contested logistics and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR)/Strike.

«In an effort to advance technical maturity and deliver HSVTOL capability to warfighters sooner, Bell is assembling a team of industry-leading partners. We’re thrilled to have SNC onboard», said Jason Hurst, vice president, Innovation, Bell. «We’ve made significant progress in Bell’s HSVTOL technology development in 2022, and we look forward to showing this progress in the upcoming year».

«SNC is delighted to join the Bell’s HSVTOL development team, and we are already hard at work to deliver the visionary mission systems that Bell demands for their visionary aircraft», says Derek Hess, vice president, strategic program business development at SNC. «Our nation’s warfighters will benefit from this HSVTOL program’s ground-breaking operational capabilities».

Similar to Bell’s innovation development, SNC continues to leverage its mission systems expertise to explore dynamic new opportunities. SNC also supports Bell with additional mission systems expertise for the development of the Bell 360 Invictus for the U.S. Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) competition.

Bell is currently executing its HSVTOL risk reduction effort and participating in the AFwerX HSVTOL Concept Challenge, a crowdsourcing effort for the United States Air Force (USAF) and United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Bell is one of 11 companies from more than 200 challenge entrants selected to receive market research investments aimed at advancing HSVTOL technology.

Air, Air Force, Unmanned Systems

HSVTOL concepts

February 21, 2022 Dmitry Shulgin

Bell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc. company, on February 16, 2022 announced its advancement to the next phase of the AFWERX High-Speed Vertical Take-Off and Landing (HSVTOL) Concept Challenge, a crowdsourcing effort for the United States Air Force (USAF) and United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). Bell is one of 11 companies from more than 200 challenge entrants selected to receive market research investments aimed at advancing solutions that enable optimal agility in austere environments.

«Bell is thrilled that our HSVTOL concepts have been selected for the next phase of the U.S. Air Force’s AFWERX Challenge», said Jason Hurst, Bell’s vice president of Innovation. «In entering this next phase, Bell’s teams will continue to lay the groundwork for the production of another revolutionary military aircraft and provide USSOCOM and the U.S. Air Force with conceptual designs and development roadmaps to accelerate this capability to the warfighter».

Bell’s HSVTOL vehicles blend the hover capability of a helicopter with the speed, range and survivability features of fighter aircraft. This family of scalable aircraft concepts is designed to support a range of missions, including personnel recovery, autonomous Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR)/Strike, and tactical mobility, with low downwash hover capability and jet-like speeds of more than 400 knots/460 mph/741 km/h.

Bell’s concepts are envisioned as part of a broader HSVTOL mission system framework that provides the next generation of speed, range, and survivability. These concepts provide the flexibility to carry out USAF and USSOCOM missions across the full spectrum of conflict and political scenarios. It emerged as a top-tier entrant in the HSVTOL Concept Challenge by meeting or exceeding rigorous evaluation criteria focused on technical merit, reliability, scalability, and other factors.

«The HSVTOL Concept Challenge has surfaced an impressive range and caliber of solutions to help us understand how to build a new class of air vehicles», said Doctor Reid Melville, chief innovation officer, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Transformational Capabilities Office. «We believe the organizations selected to receive market research investments at this stage have the potential to deliver truly groundbreaking innovation».

Over the next six months, Bell will further develop its HSVTOL solution, working closely with the USAF, USSOCOM, and Collaboration.Ai, the prime contractor facilitating the HSVTOL Concept Challenge.

Air, Navy

100th AH-1Z Viper

September 22, 2021 Dmitry Shulgin

Bell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc. company, has successfully completed its 100th consecutive on-time delivery of the AH-1Z Viper aircraft to the U.S. Marine Corps, which began nearly four years ago. Bell accomplished this milestone through tight coordination with its manufacturing and assembly facilities, UAW 218, numerous suppliers, and government partners. The H-1 series consists of the AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom, which provide light attack and utility helicopter support to the Marines while maintaining a small logistical footprint through the 85% commonality between the airframes.

«Performance like this takes a lot of work, communication, and trust to ensure alignment between numerous partners, all working toward the same objective. I could not be more proud of our Bell employees», said Mike Deslatte, Bell H-1 vice president and program director. «Our front line workers, engineers, and supply chain professionals all help support the Marines. Their work designing, manufacturing, and assembling critical components while ensuring quality parts reach the production line on time help the Marines ensure our nation’s security».

Bell and its Team Viper/Venom partners collaborate with the U.S. Marine Corps H-1 Light/Attack Helicopter program (PMA-276) to provide integrated solutions and increase combat lethality and readiness. In addition to delivering production aircraft on time, Bell directly supports scheduled maintenance. The company is also working on new capability upgrades to equip the Marines with the most advanced technology available.

«This is a feat only possible through the determination of our production team and the program’s strong relationship with our industry partners and suppliers», said Colonel Vasilios Pappas, PMA-276 program manager.

Bell is currently working toward the U.S. Marine Corps program of record (POR) and anticipates production of Marine Corps H-1 through 2022. The U.S. Marine Corps H-1 production contract is for 349 aircraft, consisting of 160 UH-1Y Venom and 189 AH-1Z Viper. Bell will continue manufacturing aircraft for foreign military customers including contracts for Bahrain AH-1Zs and a mixed Czech Republic fleet of both AH-1Zs and UH-1Ys.

Air

FARA Prototype

August 16, 2021 Dmitry Shulgin

Bell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc. company, has released new data on the build and testing for the Bell 360 Invictus competitive prototype. The Bell 360 program is rapidly progressing through manufacturing, assembly, components testing, and systems integration work for the U.S. Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program. The team has completed multiple design and risk reviews with the Army and is on schedule for all program requirements. The Bell 360, a low-risk, high-speed platform with proven technology and inherently reliable designs, will deliver soldiers transformational operational capabilities at an affordable cost.

«This team is achieving great results responding to requirements, reducing programmatic risk, and delivering state-of-the-art capabilities for the Army», said Chris Gehler, vice president and program director for the Bell 360 Invictus. «We are combining Bell’s unique knowledge of the demands placed on scout aircraft with engineering and technical expertise to give the Army a weapon system to dominate attack reconnaissance missions for decades to come».

Since beginning the build in late 2020, Bell has made significant progress on the Bell 360 Invictus fuselage, main rotor blades, gearbox assembly, cases, and other high-value components. By implementing a design-as-built methodology that digitally connects the entire program throughout its lifecycle, Bell has increased its ability to collaborate in real-time with program partners and the Army. This method accelerates decision-making among distributed teams using a common, secure data environment that creates a singular source of data for the program leading to reduced assembly, rework time and cost.

Along with assembling the Bell 360 Invictus, high-value components such as the main rotor gearbox, driveshafts and couplings are being tested at Bell’s Drive Systems Test Lab (DSTL). The DSTL is used to carry out risk-reduction efforts that ensure the program has accurate and verified data to qualify components in advance of flight test.

A new FARA-specific Systems Integration Lab (SIL) is also operational at Bell. This facility allows Bell to integrate flight-critical components, software, and mission systems for testing, verification, and validation of functionality before they take flight on an actual aircraft. This approach reduces technical risk and aids in the safe, rapid, and efficient execution of flight test program.

«The Bell 360 Invictus is an exciting aircraft that brings sophisticated digital systems together in a high-speed, reliable, maintainable vehicle for austere environments around the world», said Jayme Gonzalez, program manager, Bell 360 Invictus. «The Bell 360 offers the Army the ability to modernize using simplified and inherently reliable designs to reduce costs and deliver enhanced effectiveness for the Army».

Air

Design Concepts

August 6, 2021 Dmitry Shulgin

Bell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc. company, announced on August 2, 2021 the unveiling of design concepts for new aircraft systems for military applications which would use Bell’s High-Speed Vertical Take-Off and Landing (HSVTOL) technology as the company continues its innovation of next generation vertical lift aircraft. HSVTOL technology blends the hover capability of a helicopter with the speed, range and survivability features of a fighter aircraft.

«Bell’s HSVTOL technology is a step change improvement in rotorcraft capabilities», said Jason Hurst, vice president, Innovation. «Our technology investments have reduced risk and prepared us for rapid development of HSVTOL in a digital engineering environment, leveraging experience from a robust past of technology exploration and close partnerships with the Department of Defense and Research Laboratories».

Bell’s HSVTOL design concepts include the following features:

Low downwash hover capability;
Jet-like cruise speeds over 400 kts/460 mph/741 km/h;
True runway independence and hover endurance;
Scalability to the range of missions from unmanned personnel recovery to tactical mobility;
Aircraft gross weights range from 4,000 lbs./1,814 kg to over 100,000 lbs./45,359 kg

Bell’s HSVTOL capability is critical to future mission needs offering a range of aircraft systems with enhanced runway independence, aircraft survivability, mission flexibility and enhanced performance over legacy platforms. With the convergence of tiltrotor aircraft capabilities, digital flight control advancements and emerging propulsion technologies, Bell is primed to evolve HSVTOL technology for modern military missions to serve the next generation of warfighters.

Bell has explored high-speed vertical lift aircraft technology for more than 85 years, pioneering innovative VTOL configurations like the X-14, X-22, XV-3 and XV-15 for NASA, the U.S Army and U.S. Air Force. The lessons learned from the XV-3 and XV-15 supported the development of the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor, an invaluable platform that changed the way the U.S. military conducts amphibious assault, long range infiltration and exfiltration and resupply with a cruise speed and range twice that of helicopters it replaced.

Ground Forces

Reconnaissance Vehicle

July 24, 2021 Dmitry Shulgin

Textron Systems Corporation, a Textron Inc. company, on July 19, 2021 announced that it has been pre-awarded the United States Marine Corps Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV) prototype agreement for its purpose-built Cottonmouth vehicle. Through the 22-month period of performance, Textron Systems will produce a Cottonmouth vehicle for the Marine Corps that will go through rigorous testing and evaluation. The data gained from the ARV competitive prototyping efforts will be used to inform a USMC decision point in fiscal year 2023.

Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle (ARV) — Textron Systems selected for U.S. Marine Corps Advanced Reconnaissance Vehicle pre-award

Built from a clean-sheet design, Cottonmouth is a 6×6 wheeled amphibious reconnaissance vehicle designed to operate within the Marine Corps’ Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO) construct. Designed to swim in the open ocean and navigate through surf zones, this vehicle possesses the advanced maneuverability critical to enhanced reconnaissance operations.

As a next-generation naval sensor node, Cottonmouth has the ability to strengthen communication to operate and employ a mix of reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition and command, control, communications networking, and computing (C4) systems. Equipped with cutting-edge technology, such as teammate Elbit Systems of America’s IronVision, a «see-through» technology that provides advance visibility and 3600 situational awareness, this vehicle allows the Marine Corps to see beyond line of sight.

«Built from the ground up in less than nine months, the Cottonmouth is a low-risk, mission-oriented solution backed with over 750 miles of data using scenarios representative to the Marine Corps’ mission profile and requirements», said Senior Vice President David Phillips of Textron Systems. «The Cottonmouth is a testament to Textron Systems’ commitment to the Marine Corps’ vision and needs. We are proud to support the service in this next phase of the competition and look forward to working together».

Textron Systems responded to the requirement released by the Government through the National Advanced Mobility Consortium (NAMC) and the prototype award will be executed under their Ground Vehicle Systems (GVS) Other Transaction Agreement (OTA). Textron Systems expects to begin these activities in fall 2021, with the prototype delivery expected in the first quarter of fiscal year 2023. Per the requirement, a six-month government evaluation period will follow.

Air

Restart of the UH-1Y

July 23, 2021 Dmitry Shulgin

Bell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc. company, has restarted UH-1Y Venom helicopter production for the first international operator. Crestview Aerospace has completed manufacturing the first of eight cabins at the Crestview Florida facility. The aircraft will complete final assembly at the Bell Amarillo Assembly Center. The helicopters are part of the 2020 U.S. Department of Defense contract awarded to Bell for the production and delivery of eight UH-1Y and four AH-1Z Viper helicopters for the government of the Czech Republic.

«Crestview Aerospace is honored and grateful for the opportunity to team with Bell on the continued production of the UH-1Y Venom cabin for the first international customer», said Paul Kohlmeier, senior vice president, Strategy and Business Development, Crestview Aerospace. «Crestview continues to build in the same high quality and reliability into the international Venom helicopters that underpin the aircraft currently operated by the United States Marine Corps around the world».

Bell delivered the final UH-1Y Venom for the United States Marine Corps (USMC) program of record in April 2018 and has continued to produce and deliver the AH-1Z Viper as part of the H-1 production contract for 349 H-1 aircraft, consisting of 160 UH-1Y Venom and 189 AH-1Z Viper.

The UH-1Y Venom shares 85 percent commonality of parts with the AH-1Z Viper. The commonality between the aircraft enabled critical component supply chains to remain active during AH-1Z Viper production for the USMC.

«Time, logistics, and man-hours are all strategic resources», said Mike Deslatte, vice president and H-1 program director, Bell. «Commonality helps ensure everything between the Viper and Venom, from manufacturing, maintenance, and upgrades, remains seamless while simultaneously providing lower program and life cycle costs. It’s a real tactical advantage on multiple levels».

The UH-1Y Venom and AH-1Z Viper share the same engines, integrated mission system and dynamic components, such as the four-bladed rotor system. Both aircraft are specifically designed and produced for expeditionary operations. Together, they provide a full spectrum of military operations, unlike any other helicopter duo.

Bell anticipates USMC production through early 2022, followed by continued production for foreign military customers. Bell has two signed Foreign Military Sales (FMS) cases in production, Bahrain and the Czech Republic.

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