At the very end of August 2017, the first photos of the prototype of the new American aircraft Bell V-280 Valor appeared on the network. This model is called the third generation tiltrotor. Experts believe that the photographs provided by an anonymous source capture the flight (most likely) prototype of the Bell V-280 Valor tiltrotor, created as part of the Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) program of the American army.
The Bell V-280 Valor tiltrotor is being developed by Bell Helicopter. It was first officially presented to the public in 2013 during an exhibition at Fort Worth, Texas. The first flight of the new tiltrotor is scheduled for 2017. The US Army's JMR-TD program is aimed at developing vertical take-off aircraft that in the future can replace the Boeing AH-64 Apache and Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters in service with the US Army. At the same time, the development of engineers at Bell Helicopter claims the title of "third generation convertible aircraft." The new tiltrotor is being developed taking into account the accumulated experience in the design and operation of the first generation machines, which include the XV-3 and XV-15 tiltroplanes, and the BA609 and V-22 Osprey tiltroplanes that followed, belonging to the second generation of these aircraft.
Today, the US Army is the only operator of convertiplanes in the world. In service with the US Marine Corps and the US Air Force today is the only mass-produced Bell V-22 Osprey tiltrotor. This aircraft has been created over 30 years by engineers at Bell and Boeing, and began operation on December 8, 2005. As of 2016, a little more than 300 convertiplanes of this type were produced in the United States, the overwhelming majority of them are in service with the US Marine Corps, another 46 Bell V-22 Osprey convertiplanes are registered with the US Air Force Special Operations Command.
Bell V-280 Valor prototype
The only foreign customer of this tiltrotor was Japan, which placed an order for the supply of MV-22B Block C in 2015. The first 5 aircraft under the 2015 contract are to be handed over to the Japan Self-Defense Forces after June 2018. They are planned to be used for the defense of outlying islands. First of all, those claimed by China. In addition to the tiltrotors themselves, Japan also acquired related equipment, including a modern airborne electronic defense system, thus, the Japanese armed forces will receive tiltrotors in a "unique configuration." It is reported that the first MV-22B transport and landing tiltrotor, built for the army aviation of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces, began ground tests in August 2017. His photographs were taken on the territory of the Bell assembly center in Amarillo, in the same place where the Bell V-280 Valor, a novelty of the American aviation industry, was later filmed.
Convertoplanes are special aircraft that combine the capabilities of a helicopter and an airplane. They are machines with rotary propellers (most often screw), which during takeoff and landing work as lifting, and in flight start to work as pulling. In this case, the lift required for horizontal flight is provided by an aircraft-type wing. Most often, the engines on tiltrotors turn together with the propellers, but on some, only propellers are rotatable. It was this scheme with turning propellers that was used on the American third-generation V-280 Valor tiltrotor. The authorship of the new tiltrotor belongs to the Bell company, which, apparently, has carried out a deep revision of its previous project - the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor. The main advantages of these aircraft are their higher speed and flight range compared to conventional helicopters, which is comparable to airplanes. At the same time, they retain the ability to take off and land from extremely limited areas, including unprepared sites, and are also able to hang in the air for a while.
As representatives of the Bell company note, the new generation V-280 Valor tiltrotor was created taking into account all the latest requirements of modern warfare. Its speed and flight range were significantly increased. According to some reports, the maximum speed of the tiltrotor will be approximately 560 km / h (the cruising speed from the manufacturer's website is 520 km / h). Among other things, Bell engineers have provided for the possibility of active operation of the model in extreme ambient temperatures. Ultimately, they were able to move even further towards creating a hybrid that combines the speed of an aircraft and the ability to hover in the sky in one place, inherent in all modern helicopters.
MV-22B Block C for Japan Self-Defense Forces
Unlike its predecessor, the V-22 Osprey, whose propellers in flight could tilt along with the engines, the engines of the new V-280 Valor tiltrotor are firmly fixed in a horizontal position, as a result of which the transition between helicopter and aircraft flight modes is carried out by tilting the propellers alone. … At the same time, the designers used a straight swept wing on the V-280 model (as opposed to the reverse wing on the V-22 Osprey). Moreover, the wing will be manufactured as a single piece (composite panel) using state-of-the-art Large Cell Carbon Core technology. This solution will reduce the weight of the structure, as well as reduce manufacturing costs. Among other things, the technology used also makes it possible to quickly identify defects that may arise during the operation of the aircraft. Ultimately, the base model of the new V-280 tiltrotor will not have the complex folding wing mechanism that was implemented on the naval version of the V-22 tiltrotor. At the same time, Bell representatives note that the landing zone of the novelty will be comparable in size to the landing zone of UH-60 / UH-1Y helicopters.
The fuselage of the new tiltrotor will be made of composite materials. In this regard, the new model continues the ideas laid down in the Bell V-22 Osprey, in which, in order to reduce the mass of the structure, the developers widely used various composites (approximately 70% of the mass of the entire apparatus). The features of the Bell V-280 Valor model also include a V-shaped tail unit and a fly-by-wire control system (a system for remote control of rudders (aircraft) using electric drives) with triple channel duplication. The massive V-shaped tail unit, according to the developers' calculations, will provide the vehicle with a stabilized flight in airplane mode, and will also help to somewhat reduce the effective dispersion area of the tiltrotor.
The Bell V-280 Valor tiltrotor is equipped with rotors with nacelles fixed in a horizontal position, this solution eliminates the danger when paratroopers exit through the side doors, and also makes it easier for them to fire from the side of the tiltrotor while approaching the target and landing on the ground. Among other things, this design will also reduce technical risk by eliminating the need for certification of the engine at various angles of its inclination. Bell specialists are confident that the air flow slope of their new model will be at an intermediate level between the previous V-22 tiltrotor and ordinary helicopters.
Bell V-280 Valor prototype
It is no coincidence that the new tiltrotor model received the designation Bell V-280. Marking "V" in the name indicates the possibility of vertical take-off and landing, and the number 280 indicates the cruising speed of the model in knots (about 520 km / h). The crew of the transport version can consist of 4 people, while the tiltrotor will be able to carry up to 14 soldiers in full gear. Side doors with a width of about 1.8 meters can be used by paratroopers not only for entering and exiting, loading equipment and cargo, but also for firing from onboard machine guns or from personal small arms.
Earlier, information appeared on the network that Bell Helicopter will present to the American military two versions of its new tiltrotor: a transport one with a capacity of up to 14 people and four crew members, and a shock one, designed to replace the AN-64 Apache helicopter, with the same fuselage. It is reported that the shock version of the tiltrotor will be able to carry weapons not only on the wing pylons, but also in the internal compartments. A cannon or a device for refueling an aircraft in the air can be installed under the nose of the tiltrotor. The presence of two different versions of the convertopalan is confirmed by the renders, which are posted on the official website of Bell Helicopter.
Flight performance of Bell V-280 Valor (according to www.bellhelicopter.com):
Cruising speed - 280 knots (approximately 520 km / h).
Combat radius of action - 500-800 miles (926-1482 km).
Ferry range - up to 2100 miles (3900 km).
Payload - 12,000 lb (5400 kg).
Capacity - up to 4 crew members and 14 military personnel.
Bell V-280 Valor, renders from www.bellhelicopter.com:
