Eaton on Bell’s FVL team

The Defense Department plans to acquire a “future vertical lift” family of helicopters remains in the air. DOD will continue to fund rotary-wing research and testing programs, but can’t predict whether there will be money in the ever-shrinking budget for new aircraft. FVP began in 2009. The new helos – which could be worth up to $100B in contracts - are designed to replace the current fleet of Black Hawks, Apaches and Chinooks by 2030. The Army has awarded technology investment agreements to build the next vertical-lift aircraft to Bell Helicopter, Sikorsky Aircraft, AVX Aircraft and Karem Aircraft. The firms are to begin refining initial designs for the Joint Multi-role Rotorcraft (JMR) demonstrator program, announced by the Army’s Aviation and Missile Research at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama. Helicopter manufacturers consider FVL to be one of the few remaining opportunities in the military rotorcraft market. But there’s little money in DOD's five-year spending plan for it. DOD is aware of the industrial-base implications of FVL decisions and is studying the helicopter industry. (Source: National Defense 06/04/14) Textron's Bell Helicopter has put together a powerful team that includes Lockheed Martin, GE and Eaton [among others]. Eaton’s Jackson, Miss., facility is one of the world’s largest aerospace hydraulic pump manufacturing centers supplying components for commercial and military aircraft. Eaton design and developed the world’s first commercial higher-pressure hydraulic system for the Airbus A380; hydraulic system designer for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter; and a key hydraulic components supplier to the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III flown by the Mississippi Air National Guard.