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.Gray Eagle is the low-cost, low-risk answer to Army modernization
Gray Eagle STOL and Gray Eagle 25M are the best options for Army aviation as it assesses where to move from its current inflection point.
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. After decades of R&D, the race to replace the UH-60 helicopter is entering its last few years.
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.
Modernizing our supply chain is a national security imperative
Closing supply chain gaps in innovating technology will reposition the industrial base to be a strategic source of value.
The new drone is just one part of an ambitious overhaul of Army aviation.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Will the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft “replace” some AH-64 Apache gunships? Sort of, technically — but that’s a misleading slice of a bigger story.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
How can Army accelerate its Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft when one leading contender started flight tests just seven days ago?
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
The Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) must have enough artificial intelligence to fly unmanned at least part of the time, a secure network to control drones, and combination of speed and range that’s impossible for traditional helicopters.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
“We were never above probably a total of eight people,” the aviation Cross Functional Team chief, Brig. Gen. Wally Rugen, told me. “We’re not this big colossal thing, we’re a lean, mean organization.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
Manned air and ground forces would work together and protect each other along the front line, while relatively expendable drones and missiles go deep into enemy airspace.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
The Army’s modernization initiatives aren’t plunging into the valley of death this week or even, in most cases, this year. It will take time to build prototypes, to test them and to figure out how the force will make the most of new technology. But over the next few years, enough of these projects have to make it across that daunting gap to actually change the Army.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
