The V-280 Valor project was presented in 2013. The aircraft can take off and land both vertically and
Now V-280 Valor is participating in the US BBC contestto create a device that will replace obsolete UH-60 Black Hawk multipurpose helicopters. Among the main requirements - the cruising speed of the aircraft should exceed 280 knots, and for the use of the Marine Corps - 295 cruising knots. In this case, the carrying capacity of the device should be more than 4.5 tons.
The tiltrotor was tested in fully autonomous mode at the airfield in Arlington on December 18, 2019, but the developers only announced it now.
During the tests, the V-280 performed automatic take-off, accelerated to cruising speed in the horizontal plane, performed several maneuvers, and then landed in helicopter mode.
During the tests, there were test pilots in the convertiplane cockpit, however, according to the Bell Helicopter, they did not intervene in the control of the device.
Earlier, Bell Helicopter completed teststiltrotor V-280 Valor, during which the device performed various maneuvers at low speed. Then the tiltrotor successfully passed all the stages of verification, it can go into service with the US Air Force in the near future.