Bell unveils high-speed vertical take-off and landing design

Bell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc. company, unveiled design concepts for new aircraft systems for military applications which would use Bell’s high-speed vertical take-off and landing (HSVTOL) technology for next-generation vertical lift aircraft. HSVTOL technology blends the hover capability of a helicopter with the speed, range, and survivability features of a fighter aircraft.

“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’s HSVTOL design concepts include:

• Low downwash hover capability

• Jet-like cruise speeds over 400kts

• True runway independence and hover endurance

• Scalability to the range of missions from unmanned personnel recovery to tactical mobility

• Aircraft gross weights range from 4,000 lb to more than 100,000 lb

Bell’s HSVTOL capability offers a range of aircraft systems with enhanced runway independence, aircraft survivability, mission flexibility, and enhanced performance. With the convergence of tiltrotor aircraft capabilities, digital flight control advancements, and emerging propulsion technologies, Bell is primed to evolve HSVTOL technology for modern military missions to serve the next generation of warfighters.

Bell has explored high-speed vertical lift aircraft technology for more than 85 years, pioneering VTOL configurations in the X-14, X-22, XV-3 and XV-15 for NASA, the U.S Army, and U.S. Air Force. The lessons learned from the XV-3 and XV-15 supported development of the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor with a cruise speed and range twice that of helicopters it replaced.