Bell plans to begin construction later this year on a systems integration lab (SIL) at its flight research center in Arlington, Texas. The new facility will support Bell's vertical lift (FVL) efforts for the U.S. Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) and Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) programs by performing risk-reduction, integration, verification, and validation testing on air vehicles, mission and weapons systems, and software.
“Our team has proven we are able to deliver leap-ahead, flight-proven performance, as well as successfully complete rapid design, build, and rigorous flight-test programs. This SIL is the next step in bringing both FLRAA and FARA solutions to fruition for the U.S. Army,” said Keith Flail, Bell’s executive v-p for advanced vertical lift systems.
Bell is building the facility with the financial support of the city of Arlington. Fully staffed, the SIL could employ up to 175 people. Bell said it would leverage expertise derived from the company’s entry into the recently completed Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR TD) program, which developed and flight-tested the V-280 Valor tiltrotor.
Bell is competing in the FVL with V-280 technology for FLRAA and its proposed Invictus 360, a more conventional design, for FARA. The Army is expected to make its selection for FARA in 2023, following a fly-off in late 2022. A decision on FLRAA is expected next year.