Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company (NYSE: TXT), will showcase the full scale Bell V-280 Valor mockup at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) annual meeting and exposition, held at Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. next week from October 13 – 15. Attendees will get an up-close look at the advanced tiltrotor and have the chance to learn more about the next generation of vertical lift.

AUSA is the largest landpower exposition and professional development forum in North America. Over 500 Army and industry exhibitors gather to inform and educate on pertinent military subjects.

“Participating in AUSA gives us the opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to the U.S. Army,” said John Garrison, president and CEO of Bell Helicopter. “The Bell V-280 program is focused on moving forward to build and fly a trusted, affordable and effective aircraft as part of the continuing Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD), the precursor to Future Vertical Lift (FVL).”

The clean-sheet Bell V-280 is designed to cover ground twice as quickly as any existing platform. The tiltrotor leverages vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) capability into a strategic and tactical advantage for battle planning. Bell Helicopter leads the industry with combat-proven tiltrotor technology, and has invested heavily in the next generation tiltrotor—the Bell V-280 Valor.

“It is a great testament to Team Valor that we were selected to build and fly the V-280 Valor,” said Garrison. “The V-280 is a platform that can and will redefine military doctrine in the future. The ability to self-deploy up to 2100 nm with a single refueling when paired with the cruise speed of 280 KTAS (322 miles per hour) will allow military planners to literally rewrite the book on battle planning and forward operations. We are confident in our design, and we look forward to demonstrating V-280 capabilities in the months and years ahead.”

The V-280 is supported by Team Valor, which includes Lockheed Martin and several additional leading aerospace companies who are bringing industry-leading engineering resources and capabilities to the V-280 design and manufacturing process

Bell Helicopter press release