Bell Textron has revealed new design concepts for military aircraft that revolve around its High-Speed Vertical Take-Off and Landing (HSVTOL) technology.
HSVTOL technology is a further step towards blending rotorcraft capabilities with the performance and survivability of fixed-wing aircraft. Bell states that HSVTOL innovation would exhibit the following characteristics:
- Low downwash hover capability
- Jet-like cruise speeds over 400 kts
- True runway independence and hover endurance
- Scalability to the range of missions from unmanned personnel recovery to tactical mobility
- Aircraft gross weights range from 4,000lbs to over 100,000lbs (1,814kg – 45,360kg)
“Bell’s HSVTOL technology is a step change improvement in rotorcraft capabilities,” said Jason Hurst, vice president, Innovation. “Our technology investments have reduced risk and prepared us for rapid development of HSVTOL in a digital engineering environment, leveraging experience from a robust past of technology exploration and close partnerships with the Department of Defense and Research Laboratories.”
Bell states that its HSVTOL technology will represent the convergence of tiltrotor aircraft capabilities, digital flight control advancements and emerging propulsion technologies. The company’s history of innovative aircraft include the X-14, X-22, XV-3 and XV-15 for NASA, the US Army and US Air Force.
by Andrew Drwiega
