Bell accelerates MV-75 program for Army, invests large sums across DFW

Fort Worth-based Bell Textron Inc. is moving full speed ahead as the company prepares to deliver a prototype of the U.S. Army's next attack aircraft, the Bell MV-75.

The Army selected Bell in 2022 as part of its Future Long Range Assault Aircraft program, a contract that could be worth $1.3 billion in the short term and about $70 billion across decades for the company. The MV-75 will eventually replace the UH-60 Black Hawk made by Sikorsky, a unit of Lockheed Martin.

Bell has been investing in new buildings to support manufacturing of the aircraft in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. That includes the $20 million plus Drive Systems Test Lab in Grand Prairie, which would test technology such as gear boxes, and a Weapons Systems Integration Lab in Arlington near its existing flight research center.

The company's most recent investment came in December: a $632 million plant in AllianceTexas that will manufacture transmissions and rotor blades for the next-generation helicopter. The company already employs more than 8,000 people total, including about 4,000 work in Fort Worth, and those numbers could swell under the huge Army contract.

Bell is preparing to deliver the aircraft on an accelerated schedule. Army leaders indicated in May that they want the aircraft by 2028 instead of 2030, according to Breaking Defense. That can be accomplished by adopting a "soldiers on the factory floor" approach, said Ryan Ehinger, Bell's senior vice president and FLRAA program director.

In June, Bell delivered to the Army two MV-75 virtual prototypes — advanced simulators that act as "digital twins" of the real aircraft's cockpit. Army pilots are being trained on MV-22 Ospreys to prepare for the new tiltrotor technology. Simulators aren't unusual for new aircraft, Ehinger said.

"I would say the uniqueness is that we are so early in the process," he said. "Having this capability allows the Army to accelerate their familiarity with tiltrotor flight operations and tactics and techniques, and that's part of ... our ability to accelerate the program."

The MV-75 will be assembled at Bell's plant in Amarillo, but many of the parts will be manufactured and tested in DFW. More than 1,000 Bell employees are working specifically on the engineering and manufacturing development portion of the aircraft, Ehinger said. He did not provide an exact timeline for getting the north Fort Worth plant running, as the company navigates through permitting processes and building out the factory.

"There's going to be a lot of activity going on there as we build it up, to be able to produce parts between now and 2027," he said.

The company also recently hired a general manager for its plant in Wichita, Kansas, where it will produce fuselages.

Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) reported in July that Bell's revenue was $1 billion during the second quarter, up $222 million or 28% compared with the same time last year, driven by growth in both the MV-75 program and its commercial helicopter business. David Rosenberg, Textron's executive vice president and chief financial officer, pointed to elevated military revenue of $149 million, mostly from MV-75, and higher commercial revenue of $73 million.

Bell is poised to receive millions of dollars in incentives at the city, county and state level if it follows through with all of its plans for the north Fort Worth plant. Jeffrey Schloesser, executive vice president of strategic pursuits at Bell, said that in order to meet the Army's accelerated timeline, the company might have to move some of its production activities meant for the north Fort Worth plant to existing sites, as it awaits permitting and factory design.

"Texas moves at the speed of business ... but some of the things just require a little bit lengthier process," he said.

Bell has other projects in the works beyond the MV-75. The company is also lining up a bid to train Army pilots using Bell's helicopters, replacing the UH-72 Lakota with the Bell 505. Schloesser said Bell wants to provide the training services and the helicopters for the program. The company is poised to compete with other companies such as Lockheed Martin, Leonardo, Airbus, MD Helicopters and Robinson. Bell already has a training academy in Fort Worth. If chosen, the program could involve about 190 Bell 505 helicopters.

"They're trying to get an aircraft that will teach real good aircraft handling skills — in other words, how to fly," Schloesser said. "At the same time, reduce their cost maybe by half."

Bell was also selected by DARPA to design, construct and perform ground testing of an X-plane demonstrator that has the ability to fly at 400 to 450 knots, or roughly 460 miles per hour.