Gallery: The US May Finally Get a Cheap Alternative to the $70 Million V-22 Osprey
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Bell Helicopter says its V-280 Valor offers today’s military a smaller, lighter, cheaper, and potentially more versatile spin on the tilt-rotor concept.
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For less than a third the price of each $70 million Osprey, the Army will get nearly the same performance, along with a slew of benefits any military operation would savor.
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Compared to its official competition, the Black Hawk, the Valor offers a serious upgrade in range (800 miles, compared to 360) and top speed (350 mph, instead of 183), along with the ability to deliver gear and soldiers into tight spaces.
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Where the Osprey tilted the entire turbine engines to go between horizontal and vertical flight, the V-280 will only shift its 35-foot rotors and forward drive shafts.
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Those non-rotating engines, meantime, won’t burn grass or landing pads during takeoff and landing.
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The Osprey still holds the strength advantage, carrying roughly double the V-280’s 14 soldiers or 10,000 pounds of gear. But Bell says it can offer the V-280 for just $20 million a pop, compared to the Osprey’s $70 million price tag.
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The first version, for the Army, should take to the air by the end of 2017, though full deployment wouldn’t happen until about 2030.
