26 March 2020: Bell Textron is selected by the US Army to continue to work on its ambitious FARA program. Bell will be designing, manufacturing, and testing the Bell 360 Invictus, a prototype rotorcraft designed to provide improved lethality, survivability, and extended reach for Army Aviation. As a part of initial contact, the Bell team was under scrutiny for almost a year on the basis of their design and task-reduction work.
"The selection of the Bell 360 Invictus to continue in the FARA program builds on our decades-long legacy as an innovator in reconnaissance rotorcraft supporting the maneuverer force," said Mitch Snyder, president and CEO of Bell. "Our team has applied innovative thinking with tested technology to give the Army a low-risk option to fulfill its requirements on an aggressive schedule."
What is FARA? (Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft) & what role will Bell play in the program
- FARA is a part of US government's Future Vertical Lift (FVL) family of programs
- It seeks to test and acquire a next-generation attack reconnaissance aircraft to fill a critical capability gap identified by the Army on a rapid schedule
- The Bell 360 addresses the requirements with a design optimized to achieve the performance, connectivity, sustainability, and reliability for soldiers to fight and operate in multi-domain operations
- The aircraft is expected to meet or exceed the Army's requirements, using proven Bell technologies such as fly-by-wire flight controls, a proven articulated rotor design, and an innovative blade design to name a few.
float: left; padding: 5px; margin-right: 10px;- Bell is partnered with industry leader Collins Aerospace to integrate a new generation of avionics hardware and software featuring cyber-hardened and digital backbone solutions to provide MOSA compliance in accordance with US Army FARA objectives.
- Bell is using a digital design-as-built process that is able to connect and collaborate in a real-time digital environment to ensure alignment among all trades to facilitate smoother manufacturing, improve sustainability characteristics, and mitigate schedule risks.
- This process has been used and refined on Bell commercial projects, as well as during the recent US Army Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator program that produced the Bell V-280 Valor.
"The Bell 360 Invictus will help the Army achieve and sustain overmatch against competitors with its new attack and reconnaissance capabilities," said Keith Flail, vice president of Advanced Vertical Lift Systems at Bell. "Our aircraft builds on Bell's legacy of providing ultra-reliable scout rotorcraft by keeping our aircraft affordable with an emphasis on simplifying processes to achieve a sustainable and maintainable aircraft for the war fighters."