Bell
Bell is staking its military future on the V-280 Valor and the Bell 360 Invictus, in a bid to supply next-generation helicopters to non- U.S. militaries and to U.S. armed forces through the Army’s Future Vertical Lift initiative.
The Bell V-280 twin-engine tilt-rotor can carry 12 passengers with a crew of four up to 500 nautical miles (nm) at 280 knots/ hour. The Bell 360 Invictus is an aerial weapons platform flown by two crew members. It can carry a 20 mm cannon and a modular effects launcher (to accommodate existing and future forms of ordnance), with support provided for air effects integrations. The Bell 360 cruises at 180 knots/hour with a 400 nm range. Assuming 60 minutes on station, its combat radius is 165 nm.
Meanwhile, the unmanned Bell V-247 Vigilant tilt-rotor can support missions such as aerial escort/refueling, anti-submarine warfare, ISTAR, personnel recovery, and precision air strikes. When a helicopter doesn’t have to carry a crew aloft, range improves: the V-247 can fly as far as 2,500 nm at a speed of 300 knots/hour.
On the unmanned side, Bell’s Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) prototype is revolutionizing the supply of troops in remote and dangerous locations. With its four vertical rotorcraft engines built around a central cargo pod, the APT can lift off, hover, and land like a helicopter while flying from one point to another like a conventional fixed-wing aircraft to maximize speed and range.
Conceptually, Bell’s APT is in the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) family of vehicles that Bell is developing to reach speeds of more than 100 miles per hour, and it has a baseline payload capability of 70 pounds. Blakeley Thress, a Bell spokesperson, said it recently demonstrated carrying payloads of over 100 pounds and added, “Bell’s APT systems allow for flexible mission capabilities while keeping operations simple, efficient, and fast. It is capable of twice the speed and range of a conventional multi-rotor, and the vehicle is designed for rapid deployment, quick reconfiguration, and nimble battery swap and recharge.”
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