Bell V-280 Valor, V-247 Vigilant Will Be Engined by Rolls-Royce

May 7, 2019

William Kucinski

Bell Helicopter , a Textron Inc. subsidiary based in Fort Worth, Texas, will partner with Rolls-Royce plc to develop an optimized propulsion system for the Bell V-280 Valor and unmanned V-247 Vigilant vertical lift tiltrotor aircraft – the company’s candidate platforms for the U.S. Army’s Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program.

The partnership will focus on integrating Rolls-Royce’s low-risk, advanced propulsion system technology into future Bell aircraft. As part of the teaming agreement, Bell will lead the design, development, and production of advanced vertical lift systems and Rolls-Royce will provide its technical expertise in propulsion systems to provide potential customers with tested, high-performance solutions.

William Kucinski is content editor at SAE International, Aerospace Products Group in Warrendale, Pa. Previously, he worked as a writer at the NASA Safety Center in Cleveland, Ohio and was responsible for writing the agency’s System Failure Case Studies. His interests include literally anything that has to do with space, past and present military aircraft, and propulsion technology.

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