Bell focuses on US Army future attack
Bell, a Textron Inc. company, has announced agreements with nine premier aerospace industry leaders to form Team Invictus. The companies are producing the Bell 360 Invictus prototype submission as part of the US Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) programme.
Each industry partner brings unique experience and technological expertise to provide a low-risk path for the US Army’s acquisition of a lethal, affordable rotorcraft with advanced mission systems to modernise aviation for multi-domain operations (MDO). Chris Gehler, Vice President and Programme Director for FARA at Bell said: “Team Invictus is working together to show how cutting-edge technology will give soldiers the ability to confidently operate in the complex and contested battlespace of multi-domain operations. Future Vertical Lift is critical for the Army’s ability to win in multi-domain operations with FARA defeating defensive layers and the future long-range assault aircraft exploiting opened areas to achieve operational objectives.”
Team members are working closely together to deliver the Bell 360 Invictus prototype using a configuration that emphasises operational availability, sustainability and maintainability. The members of Team Invictus include:
• Astronics’ Corporation for a modular framework of airframe power generation, conversion and distribution products
• Collins Aerospace for integration of a new generation of avionics hardware and software featuring cyber-hardened and digital backbone solutions to configure and integrate mission systems
• GE Aviation for the 3,000-SHP T901 engine and working on the aircraft Health Awareness System (HAS)
• ITT-Enidine Inc. for the passive Liquid Inertia Vibration Eliminator (LIVE) units for all modes of operation including high speed
• L3Harris Technologies for the WESCAM™ MX-15D, an advanced, stabilised multi-sensor, multi-spectral imaging and targeting system
• Parker Lord for rotor dampers, the main rotor CF bearing, the tail rotor tension torsion strap, and the Active Vibration Control (AVC) System
• Mecaer Aviation Group, Inc. for a fully retractable, tail dragger landing gear system
• MOOG Inc. for flight control computer (FCC) electronics, software and flight control actuation, critical components of the Bell fly-by-wire, Flight Control System (FCS)
• TRU Simulation and Training for a high-fidelity flight simulator that gives pilots a true sense of the aircraft flight controls
Team Invictus is applying digital design and manufacturing technologies, including maintenance as part of the design process and use of emerging commercial practices to bring a holistic view of digital models, processing and analysis to reduce lifecycle maintenance and servicing requirements, therefore reducing sustainment costs.
“Each team member brings a capability that is vital to the success of the Bell 360 and we are honoured to have proven, capable and well-respected industry partners on Team Invictus,” stated Gehler. “This is an outstanding industry team and we are working diligently to produce a FARA weapons’ system that is operationally effective, affordable and sustainable, as well as complementary and in many ways common to the FLRAA programme.” Following the selection of the Bell 360 Invictus for the competitive prototype in March 2020, Team Invictus continues to rapidly move forward.Team Invictus’collective expertise reduces programme risk whilst preserving the US Army’s FARA schedule leading to a first flight targeted for the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2022.