The Bell V-280 Valor successfully achieved its namesake optimal cruise speed of 280 knots

ARLINGTON, Texas - Building on a full year’s worth of testing and more than 85 hours of flight time, Bell’s V-280 Valor vertical takeoff aircraft reached its namesake cruising speed of 280 knots true airspeed this week.

Bell and Team Valor continue to expand the flight envelope. The aircraft continues to prove its performance to deliver its capability for warfighters as part of the Future of Vertical Lift (FVL) program.

"Cruising at twice the speed of legacy helicopters, with double the range, really changes the way the U.S. military can enable multi-domain operations," said Ryan Ehinger, V-280 program manager at Bell. "By eliminating forward refueling points alone, leaders can focus on operational goals while minimizing logistical burdens."

As the program moves into 2019, V-280 flight testing aims to prove out performance parameters and reduce FVL risk in the U.S. Army led Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) program. The next stages will expand the performance envelope highlighting further low-speed agility maneuvers, angles of bank and autonomous flight.

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