Over the southwest desert, drones large and small are autonomously avoiding anti-aircraft threats while feeding real-time targeting data over an AI network to troops on the ground.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Despite disruptions worldwide, Future Vertical Lift flight tests, virtual industry days, and design reviews are all moving ahead on schedule or mere weeks behind.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.After decades of building traditional helicopters in traditional ways, contractors must get ready for the Army’s new high-speed Future Vertical Lift aircraft. Small makers of key parts need help.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.The Army’s urgently developing new air-launched drones, long-range missiles, and electronic architecture to go on the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft that Bell and Sikorsky are vying to build.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.New Future Vertical Lift aircraft are just part of the solution. So are new tactics and technology upgrades for existing helicopters.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.After two years of intensive digital engineering, in 2022 the Army will pick either a Bell tiltrotor or a Sikorsky-Boeing compound helicopter to replace the UH-60 Black Hawk.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.To seamlessly share data on everything from target coordinates to engine diagnostics, the Army is developing a standardized Modular Open System Architecture for all its Future Vertical Lift aircraft.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Before manned aircraft enter hostile airspace, three different types of drones – long-range, tactical, and miniaturized – will rip open the seams in the enemy’s defenses.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.After decades of R&D, the race to replace the UH-60 helicopter is entering its last few years.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.“The Army has learned its lesson” from past acquisition disasters, said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who’s “very pleased” with FVL. This program is truly different, agreed one of the fathers of the cancelled Comanche, retired Maj. Gen. Rudy Ostovich.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.AVX/L3, Bell, Boeing, Karem, and Sikorsky have submitted their designs for the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft. None of them is a conventional helicopter.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.The Army isn’t just replacing old helicopters. It’s building a networked “ecosystem” of mutually supporting manned and unmanned weapons that can drive a flying wedge into Russian and Chinese air defenses.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.The Army is skeptical that early models of the Future Vertical Lift aircraft will be able to fly unmanned. But Bell says it’s already flight-tested all the essential automation.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.The Army aims to replace its RQ-7 Shadow with a new, more nimble drone that doesn’t require a runway, to better scout and survive in fast-moving conflicts with great powers.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.