Bell V-280 Valor assembly begins

Bell Helicopter announced the start of major assembly work on the fuselage of the Bell V-280 Valor tilt-rotor aircraft on 15 June, with Spirit AeroSystems beginning work on the aircraft's composite cabin and cockpit.

The first V-280 fuselage is expected to be delivered to the Bell Helicopter facility in Amarillo, Texas later in 2015, and the first flight of the technology demonstrator is expected to take place in the second half of 2017.

Spirit AeroSystems is part of Team Valor, a group of aerospace firms led by Bell Helicopter that includes Lockheed Martin, Astronics, General Electric, GKN Aerospace, Israel Aerospace Industries and others.

Phil Anderson, senior vice president of defence, Spirit AeroSystems, said: 'Spirit AeroSystems brings decades of composite manufacturing experience to the team which allows us to quickly build an aircraft like the V-280. This is a major milestone for the technology demonstrator unit. Spirit AeroSystems is proud to be on Team Valor and we are excited to be designing and building the composite cabin and cockpit for the V-280.'

Mitch Snyder, executive vice president of military business, Bell Helicopter, said: 'US ground forces require significant increase in speed and range to operate against and strike adversary systems much deeper than existing platforms. That is the vision for Future Vertical Lift.

'The V-280 advanced technology tilt-rotor provides the Department of Defense with unmatched speed, range and payload for expeditionary manoeuvre to win these future conflicts. We are confident in the capability that the V-280 will provide, and we are proud to have Spirit AeroSystems adding their expertise to Team Valor and to the V-280. Spirit AeroSystems beginning major assembly on the V-280 fuselage brings this high-performance aircraft one step closer to completion.'

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V-280 Valor