Bell showed off three similar airframes. The smallest would apparently be
unmanned, while the larger of the two
clearly house a cockpit in the airframe
nose. The largest of the three would
apparently be about double the size of
the V-22 osprey an earlier tilt rotor
aircraft also built by bell.
In theory bell's hsvtol aircraft could
operate independently of runways and
conduct various missions. Including cargo
transport, troop insertion and search and
rescue. Though indeed a flexible platform there
may however be a problem. Although bell's three HSVTOL aircraft
would indeed offer the warfighter some
new capabilities, some of the three
aircraft's features raise questions.
First although all three seem to feature
some stealthy characteristics like a
canted tail and apparently stealthily
contoured fuselages. Second the largest of the three's engine
intake is located at the top of the
airframe's fuselage which would help to
hide the intake from enemy radar and
help preserve the airframe's low radar
signature.
However one glaring shortcoming of the HSVTOL aircraft's stealthy design is the
oversized rotors they'd use when
hovering. Even when folded back during horizontal
flight they still offer enemy air
defenses a complex surface that could
reflect rather than deflect radar waves
and potentially negating any stealth
advantage achieved by their other
stealthy features. Another potential issue could be the
extra weight inherent to a multi-engine
design. While in horizontal flight the HSVTOL aircraft's rotors would be useless, creating parasitic drag that adversely
affects flight performance and increases
airframe weight.
Bell has several other somewhat similar
airframes in the works besides these HSVTOL concepts. In addition to the company's successful V-22 osprey tilt rotor the company is
also working on another tilt rotor for
the army's future vertical lift program. Their V-280 valor is a sleek looking
aircraft that, although smaller than the V-22 offers some advantages including
fixed engine nisellas for better
performance. Still bell certainly has many decades of
aircraft design experience it can
leverage for this new HSVTOL design
perhaps concerns about their HSVTOL aircraft are overblown. Ttill until bell builds and tests
prototype aircraft speculation as at
best speculative.
The Bell V-280 Valor is a tiltrotor aircraft being developed by Bell and Lockheed Martin for the United States Army's Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program. The aircraft was officially unveiled at the 2013 Army Aviation Association of America's Annual Professional Forum and Exposition in Fort Worth, Texas. The V-280 made its first flight on 18 December 2017 in Amarillo, Texas.
The V-280 is designed for a cruising speed of 280 knots (320 mph; 520 km/h), hence the name V-280, a top speed of 300 knots (345 mph; 556 km/h), a range of 2,100 nautical miles (2,400 mi; 3,900 km), and an effective combat range of 500 to 800 nmi (580 to 920 mi; 930 to 1,480 km). Expected maximum takeoff weight is around 30,000 pounds (14,000 kg). In one major difference from the earlier V-22 Osprey tiltrotor, the engines remain in place while the rotors and drive shafts tilt. A driveshaft runs through the straight wing, allowing both prop rotors to be driven by a single engine in the event of engine loss.
The V-280 will have retractable landing gear, a triple-redundant fly by wire control system, and a V-tail configuration. The wings are made of a single section of carbon fiber reinforced polymer composite, reducing weight and production costs. The V-280 will have a crew of four and be capable of transporting up to 14 troops. Dual cargo hooks will give it a lift capacity to carry a 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) M777A2 Howitzer while flying at a speed of 150 knots (170 mph; 280 km/h). The fuselage is visually similar to that of the UH-60 Black Hawk medium lift helicopter. When landed, the wing is more than 7 ft (2.1 m) from the ground, allowing soldiers to egress easily out of two 6-foot (1.8 m) wide side doors and door gunners to have wide fields of fire.
