Bell Textron introduces US Army to FLRAA virtual prototype

Bell Textron announced on 20 May 2025 that it has demonstrated a virtual prototype of the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) to the US Army and delivered a status update on the programme.

The FLRAA virtual prototype, an advanced simulator based on a digital twin of the FLRAA V-280 Valor tiltrotor platform, is a key element of the US Army’s accelerated acquisition approach leveraging the Middle Tier of Acquisition (MTA) process. Two virtual prototypes will support accelerated user familiarisation, feedback and development of tactics, techniques and procedures in preparation for the fielding of the FLRAA. These assets are expected to be converted into flight training devices (FTDs) over time.

“I am thrilled to see the first piece of hardware that will be delivered on the army’s FLRAA program,” Col Jeffrey Poquette, US Army FLRAA Project Manager, was quoted as saying in a Bell press release. “By leveraging Congressional authorities, not only will we deliver two FLRAA virtual prototype cockpit simulators but also accelerate the broader FLRAA program by four years. Once delivered they will provide our user community, army pilots, with the ability to experiment with tiltrotor tactics and ultimately develop doctrine for its future use. Additionally, we will take the feedback received from our users and seek to incorporate what is most important to them into the final design of the aircraft. Overall, this represents great progress for the FLRAA program.”

“I am incredibly proud of the joint team’s execution, working together in parallel to the weapon system development to deliver this advanced capability,” added Ryan Ehinger, senior vice president and FLRAA programme director at Bell. “Having the PM FLRAA team alongside the Bell team as we head into final USG testing and delivery is further evidence of the extensive industry/government collaboration benefitting this program.”

The FLRAA programme was initiated in 2019 and on 5 December 2022 the US Army selected Bell’s V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft over the Defiant X compound helicopter being bid by Sikorsky and Boeing, awarding Bell Textron an FLRAA weapon system development contract that included nine options. On 2 August 2024 the US Army’s Program Executive Office Aviation announced that the FLRAA programme had taken a major step forward with the approval of its Milestone B Acquisition Decision Memorandum. This allowed the army to exercise the first option, which includes detailed aircraft design and the building of six prototype aircraft.

The army is planning for the first FLRAA flight in 2026, with low-rate initial production scheduled to begin in 2028 and initial fielding activity to take place in 2030.

The FLRAA is being designed to fly twice as far and twice as fast as the current US Army rotary-wing fleet while providing unmatched agility and handling capabilities. Utilising mature tiltrotor technology coupled with an innovative digital engineering approach and the US government-mandated Modular Open Systems Approach, it is designed to be “the most reliable, affordable and high-performing long-range assault aircraft in the world” according to Bell.