The new American convertible airplane Bell V-280 finished its first flight
The American army is putting heavy work into a respectable replacement for the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. And maybe the replacement could be the convertible airplane Bell V-280 Valor. Its development is coming to a successful end as on the 18. December it had its first successful flight.
Bell V-280 Valor - Source: Bell Helicopter
At this time the standard middle size helicopter of the American army is the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. It is being made since 1974 and the American army uses it to air attacks, military operations and to protect and save both military personnel and civilians. The Black Hawk can carry 11 soldiers with gear or for example the howitzer M119 with 30 rounds a compliment of four operators. That’s quite the feat, but when we take its age into consideration, all the new technologies developed during the last 30 years have missed this helicopter.
Bell V-280 Valor -- First Flight - Source: Bell Helicopter YouTube Channel
That’s why the American army is working on creating a successor. Maybe the convertible airplane Bell V280 could be it. Recently on the 18th December 2017, it had its first flight. It just flew into the air and levitated there for a moment. Obviously, these are just the first baby steps but big things are the convertible airplane’s future as it is full of the newest technologies allowing it to fly faster and further than existing helicopters. The Pentagon is working based on its long-term plan in which they want to eventually replace all American helicopters with machines capable of vertical lift. The Bell V-280 Valor is being developed for this purpose by Bell Helicopter and Lockheed Martin. Once the new machines will be introduced into the American army they will drastically improve American capabilities to transfer units or supplies. The V-280 should be capable of flying at the speed of 520 kph (323 mph) almost double the speed of the Black Hawk. The range of in combat situations should be between 930 and 1480 km (580 to 920 miles) which is more than double of what the Black Hawk is capable of. The crew consists of 4 people and an additional 14 can be carried by the V-280.
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