In early December, the US Army selected Bell Textron’s “V-280” Valor as part of the FLRAA program [Future Long Range Assault Aircraft]which aims to replace the UH-60 “Black Hawk” maneuver helicopters by 2030. And this, at the expense of Sikorsky [filiale de Lockheed-Martin] and Boeing, who had joined forces to defend the application for the SB>1 Defiant.
If the amount of the development contract that must be notified to Bell Textron is relatively modest, the choice of the V-280 “Valor” opens up commercial prospects amounting to at least 70 billion dollars. Indeed, in addition to the US Army, other armed forces, also equipped with UH-60 Black Hawks, could be tempted to acquire the same type of aircraft… Which would obviously not suit Sikorsky, who would thus see him escape contracts of which he is currently the holder.
Also, the complaint just filed by the Lockheed-Martin subsidiary with the Government Accountability Office [GAO]with support from Boeing, comes as no surprise…
“The data and the discussions lead us to believe that the proposals have not been evaluated consistently to provide the best solution in the interests of the US Army, our soldiers and American taxpayers,” said argue Paul Lemmo, CEO of Sikorsky, claiming to have carried out a “thorough examination of the information and comments provided” by the Pentagon.
When announcing the choice of the V-280 “Valor”, Doug Bush, the head of US Army acquisitions, assured “having anticipated” a possible challenge to this decision. We “took account of it within our timeframes,” he said. The GAO is now required to rule on the matter by April 7. And a decision in favor of Sikorsky/Boeing would obviously risk delaying the FLRAA program.
Note that, with respectively the 360 Invictus and the Raider X, Bell Textron and Sikorsky are also competitors for the FARA program [Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft]which aims to replace the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior attack and reconnaissance helicopters as well as part of the AH-64 Apache.