FLRAA final RFP

It is expected that the US Army will release the final Request for Proposal (RFP) for its Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) somewhere this summer.

The FLRAA programme was initiated in 2019 to develop a successor to the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter. The Black Hawk was developed in the early 1970s and has been in service since June 1979. According to the April 2019 Request for Information (RFI), the US Army plans to bring the FLRAA into service in 2030, in anticipation of retiring the Black Hawk after a 50-year life.

Late 2020, a draft RFP was issued by the US Army and according the FLRAA Project Manager, Col. David Phillips, a lot of great feedback and comments from the industry and other government stakeholders was received. The feedback was evaluated and incorporated in the final RFP.

Sikorsky-Boeing is offering the SB>1 Defiant, a compound co-axial helicopter, and Bell Helicopters is offering the V-280 Valor, a tilt-rotor vertical lift helicopter design. Both companies already have a technology demonstrator flying.

Sikorsky's prototype was unveiled in December 2018, and the first flight took place on 21 March 2019 at Sikorsky West Palm Beach site in Florida. The Defiant, registered N100FV (construction number 0001) was previously registered N971SK. Sikorsky named this model the S-100.

Bell's prototype was officially unveiled at the 2013 Army Aviation Association of America's (AAAA) Annual Professional Forum and Exposition in Fort Worth (TX). The V-280 made its first flight on 18 December 2017 in Amarillo (TX). The Valor is registered N280BH (c/n 60105).

Following the selection of a vendor in 2022, the US Army will launch directly into the engineering and manufacturing development phase of the programme.

Photos by Sikorsky-Boeing and Bell Helicopters