The Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft ( FLRAA ) program was initiated by the United States Army in 2019 to develop a successor to the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter as part of the Future Vertical Lift program. The UH-60, developed in the early 1970s, has been in service since June 1979. Like the UH-60, FLRAA variants would also serve United States Special Operations Command and the United States Marine Corps . Under the existing Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) program, the Army has been gathering data from flying prototype designs that could fill the FLRAA role.
31-734: The Army posted a request for information (RFI) in April 2019, which was intended to identify interested manufacturers. According to the RFI, the Army plans to bring the FLRAA into service in 2030, in anticipation of retiring the UH-60 after a 50-year life. On December 5, 2022, the Army selected the Bell Textron V-280 Valor powered by Rolls-Royce engines for the FLRAA contract award. The award
62-709: A brand and retain its existing headquarters and operations in Slovenia and Italy. Textron will invest in the division to hasten future aircraft development and production. Pipistrel's founder and CEO, Ivo Boscarol, will stay on as a minority shareholder and also as the Chairman Emeritus . The purchase was completed in April 2022, for a price of US$ 235M. Textron Systems is an aerospace and defense development and manufacturing firm headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. The company reported 2012 annual sales in
93-460: A Manhattan federal court against the former head of a now-defunct London-based company, Xcalibur Aerospace Ltd., for making a fraudulent bid to buy Textron for $ 13.8 billion. The Department of Justice and the SEC claimed that Xcalibur Aerospace was never in a position to complete a tender offer for Textron and lacked the finances to do so. On May 28, 2024, Textron publicly announced the completion of
124-527: A conglomerate almost as big as itself. Later on, James Hardymon took over as CEO. This $ 1.4 billion acquisition included the parent of Paul Revere Insurance Company (through 1996, when they sold it). James Hardymon brought in Lewis B. Campbell , who became CEO in 1998. Starting in 2000, Campbell led a company-wide restructuring program. The share price fell to as low as $ 13/share in March ;2003 after
155-555: A separate unit to Hurst, Texas in 1951. Textron purchased Bell Aerospace in 1960. Bell Aerospace was composed of three divisions of Bell Aircraft Corporation, including its helicopter division, which had become its only division still producing complete aircraft. The helicopter division was renamed Bell Helicopter Company and in a few years, with the success of the UH-1 Huey during the Vietnam War, it had established itself as
186-684: A significant milestone with the delivery of the 500th Bell 429 helicopter. This notable aircraft was received by the Mendes Group, a prominent operator headquartered in Latin America, intended for corporate transportation purposes within Brazil. Established in 1986, its Mirabel, Quebec facility assembles and delivers most of Bell's commercial helicopters and delivered its 5,000th helicopter on December 12, 2017. Bell manufacturing and support facilities are: Textron Textron Inc.
217-523: Is a designer and manufacturer of light transportation vehicles for golf courses, planned communities, campuses, and other uses. Products include electric and internal combustion golf carts, low speed vehicles and other multipurpose utility vehicles under the E-Z-Go, Cushman and Bad Boy Buggy brands. Greenlee Textron is an industrial and electrical tool company headquartered in Rockford, Illinois . It
248-563: Is a government contractor based in Newport News , Virginia . On March 6, 2017, Textron acquired Arctic Cat for US$ 247M. Arctic Cat is a manufacturer of snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, and side-by-sides . Textron operates Arctic Cat as a subsidiary of Textron Specialized Vehicles. Bell Textron is an American helicopter and rotorcraft manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas . Acquired by Textron in 1960, E-Z-GO
279-413: Is a supplier to the automotive industry . The company produces plastic fuel systems , selective catalytic reduction systems, windshield and headlamp washer systems, and other products. In August 2019, Textron Inc. was looking to spin off or sell this division to focus on higher-margin parts of their business. Textron AirLand, LLC is a joint venture between Textron Inc. and AirLand Enterprises, LLC that
310-591: Is an American aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas . A subsidiary of Textron , Bell manufactures military rotorcraft at facilities in Fort Worth, and Amarillo, Texas , United States as well as commercial helicopters in Mirabel, Quebec , Canada . The company was founded on July 10, 1935, as Bell Aircraft Corporation by Lawrence Dale Bell in Buffalo, New York . The company focused on
341-601: Is an American industrial conglomerate based in Providence, Rhode Island . Textron's subsidiaries include Arctic Cat , Bell Textron , Textron Aviation (which itself includes the Beechcraft and Cessna brands), and Lycoming Engines . It was founded by Royal Little in 1923 as the Special Yarns Company . In 2020, Textron employed over 33,000 people in 25 countries. The company ranked 265th on
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#1732772691852372-631: Is currently developing the Textron AirLand Scorpion aircraft as a private venture. Textron Aviation is a new venture formed in March 2014 from Beechcraft and Cessna, retaining the Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawker aircraft type names as brands. In March 2022 Textron agreed to buy Slovenian aircraft builder Pipistrel and form a new division for electric aircraft development, called Textron eAviation . Pipistrel will continue as
403-541: Is intended to be more agile and faster than the existing UH-60. FLRAA is part of the Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program; in 2016, Major General William Gayler declared the first FVL aircraft would fill the medium-lift role. The proposed FLRAA program schedule overlaps with the FARA procurement, which is also part of FVL. FARA would provide a light-lift helicopter for the armed reconnaissance/scout role that
434-755: The Bell 525 Relentless , Bell V-280 Valor tiltrotor, Cessna Citation Longitude , Cessna Citation Hemisphere , Beechcraft Denali single-engine turboprop, the Cessna SkyCourier twin cargo hauler and the Textron Scorpion close support jet after the certification of the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X . In March 2022, Textron agreed to acquire Pipistrel , an electrically powered aircraft manufacturer based in Italy and Slovenia. On April 5, 2022, U.S. authorities announced criminal as well as civil charges in
465-577: The 2021 Fortune 500 of the largest United States corporations by revenue. Textron started as a textile company in 1923, when 27-year-old Royal Little founded the Special Yarns Corporation in Boston, Massachusetts . The company manufactured synthetic yarns , a niche product at the time. By the start of World War II , the company was known as Atlantic Rayon Corporation and manufactured parachutes . As war production wound down,
496-555: The 400th Cessna Citation Latitude business jet at its manufacturing facility in Wichita , Kansas. Scheduled for delivery later this year, the significant achievement was marked by a celebratory event held by employees at the company's Wichita headquarters. Able Aerospace Services is an international business and $ 70 million aerospace enterprise that is performing more than 2,800 proprietary FAA -approved repairs on aircraft and components. Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC)
527-645: The FLRAA contract. In March 2020, the Army awarded competitive demonstration contracts to Bell and Sikorsky/Boeing, who would proceed to complete conceptual designs and explain how the FLRAA requirements were met by the Valor and Defiant candidate designs, respectively. On 8 February 2024 the US Army ended development of FARA, while FLRAA development is continuing. FLRAA passed Milestone B in the acquisition process in August 2024. Bell Textron Bell Textron Inc.
558-965: The company lost 75% of its value in the first ten years of Campbell's leadership, he managed to take home over $ 120 million in compensation. His salary in 2008 was $ 25 million, making him the highest-paid executive of a conglomerate. Campbell managed to sell over $ 40 million in Textron stock in April and May 2008, at prices over $ 60 per share. Scott C. Donnelly became CEO in December 2009. Textron acquired Mechtronix in Montreal, Quebec and OPINICUS in Tampa, Florida , in 2013. Donnelly combined these flight simulation companies, along with Textron's AAI Logistics & Technical Services, to form TRU Simulation & Training in 2014. On December 26, 2013, Textron agreed to purchase Beechcraft , including
589-512: The company started making civilian products as well and was renamed Textron : "Tex" for "textiles" and "tron" from synthetics such as "Lustron". The company was listed on the NYSE in 1947. Royal Little began the process of turning Textron into a conglomerate in 1953, with the purchase of Burkart Manufacturing Company (upholstery filling for the automotive industry) in September 1953, followed by
620-738: The designing and building of fighter aircraft. Their first fighters were the XFM-1 Airacuda , a twin-engine fighter for attacking bombers, and the P-39 Airacobra . The P-59 Airacomet , the first American jet fighter, the P-63 Kingcobra , the successor to the P-39, and the Bell X-1 were also Bell products. In 1941, Bell hired Arthur M. Young , a talented inventor, to provide expertise for helicopter research and development. It
651-412: The discontinued Hawker jet line, for $ 1.4 billion. The sale closed in March 2014. The company formed a new company called Textron Aviation to market the products of Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawker as individual brands . From 2013 to 2016, R&D investments were 4.3%, 4.0%, 4.6%, and 4.2% of its revenues ($ 13.78 billion in 2016) and totaled more than $ 2.2 billion as it developed seven aircraft:
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#1732772691852682-551: The economic downturn following the collapse of Internet companies and the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center . Diminished demand for helicopters and airplanes led to layoffs at Cessna and Bell Textron . In 2007, the Wall Street Journal reported that Campbell had received $ 494,700 in compensation in the form of his use of a corporate jet to travel between his home and office, which made him
713-691: The exception of the AB139, which is now known as the AW139 . Bell and AW cooperated also on the AW609 tiltrotor . Bell planned to reduce employment by 760 in 2014 as fewer V-22s were made. A rapid prototyping center called XworX assists Bell's other divisions in reducing development time. The company was rebranded as "Bell" on February 22, 2018. In July 2024, at the Farnborough International Airshow, Bell Textron commemorated
744-435: The largest division of Textron. In January 1976, Textron changed the division's name to Bell Helicopter Textron . Bell Helicopter had a close association with AgustaWestland . The partnership dated back to separate manufacturing and technology agreements with Agusta ( Bell 47 and Bell 206 ) and as a sublicence via Agusta with Westland ( Bell 47 ). When the two European firms merged, the partnerships were retained, with
775-476: The most expensive CEO in the country in terms of use of jet travel. Some shareholders have questioned whether it is a good use of shareholder dollars to pay for the personal lifestyle choice of the CEO to live in one state and work in another. Shares in Textron plummeted to as low as $ 10.09 per share in the aftermath of the 2008 economic downturn , driving its market capitalization down to just $ 3.17 billion. While
806-491: The purchase of Dalmo-Victor (airborne Radar Antennae) and MB Manufacturing Company in early 1954. The push for diversification would see Textron purchase various other manufacturing companies. In 1960, the company also bought Bell Aerospace and E-Z-Go. The textile division was sold to Deering Milliken in 1963. Later CEOs included G. William Miller (1968–1977), Joseph Collinson (1977–1979) and Robert P. Straetz (1979–1986). In 1984, Textron took on more debt and bought Avco ,
837-535: Was acquired by Textron in 1986. Greenlee produces various wire and cable installation tools that are used in a variety of fields. On April 18, 2018, Textron announced that it would sell its Greenlee brand to Emerson Electric . Textron purchased Jacobsen Manufacturing in June 1978 and continued to produce Jacobsen garden tractors into the 1990s. Today, Jacobsen sells various products used for turf care: maintenance equipment, vehicles, and other products. Kautex Textron
868-460: Was founded in 1862 by brothers Robert and Ralph Greenlee to manufacture their invention, a drill surrounded by four chisel blades, used in making the pockets for a mortise and tenon joint for the furniture industry in Rockford. This device is still used in cabinetmaking. The brothers later diversified into a variety of hand woodworking tools as well as machinery for making wooden barrels. The company
899-645: Was previously filled by the Bell OH-58 Kiowa until its retirement in 2014. On April 4, 2019, the Army released a formal request for information and outlined its proposed schedule for FLRAA: The FVL program is headed by Brigadier General Wally Rugen ; according to Rugen, based on the data gathered during JMR-TD with the Bell V-280 Valor and the Sikorsky–Boeing SB-1 Defiant , the Army was ready to move on to open competition for
930-713: Was protested by the Sikorsky-Boeing team, however the Government Accountability Office denied the protest. According to the RFI, the Army has set a per-unit cost goal of $ 43 million (in 2018 dollars). The Army envisions combat scenarios where a future scout helicopter being developed under the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program and unmanned drones would control an area or corridor, which would then allow FLRAA to insert troops. FLRAA
961-430: Was the foundation for what Bell hoped would be a broader economic base for his company that was not dependent on government contracts . The Bell 30 was their first full-size helicopter (first flight December 29, 1942) and the Bell 47 became the first helicopter in the world rated by a civil aviation authority , becoming a civilian and military success. Due to its burgeoning success, the helicopter division relocated as