Bell and Sikorsky-Boeing will compete for the design planned to replace the UH-60 Black Hawk general-purpose helicopter, which has been operational since 1979. The US Army has awarded Bell and a Sikorsky-Boeing team Competitive Demonstration and Risk Reduction contracts for the next stage of its Future Long Range Air Assault (FLRAA) programme.

Over the last several years, Bell and the Sikorsky-Boeing team designed, built and flew demonstrators for the service’s Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstration programme, a precursor to the FLRAA programme. Bell built its tiltrotor V-280 Valor. The Sikorsky-Boeing built the compound helicopter SB-1 Defiant.