Bell Textron has completed the first nacelle structures for the US Army’s MV-75 Cheyenne tiltrotor and begun testing its initial gearboxes, advancing construction of the first test aircraft under the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) programme. The nacelles are being fitted to the wings at Bell’s Amarillo Assembly Center in Texas, while gearbox testing is under way in Grand Prairie.
The gearboxes power electrical generators, hydraulic pumps and cooling blowers serving the aircraft’s engines and nacelles. Bell manufactured the gears and cases at its Manufacturing Technology Center in Fort Worth and designed, assembled and tested the complete systems in-house at its MV-75 Drive System Test Lab.
The latest work also includes software-integration activities. Bell completed the first two MV-75 wing structures in June, when nacelle assembly was still under way. The wing and nacelle assemblies are expected to be joined to a fuselage under construction at the company’s Wichita Assembly Center in Kansas.
The MV-75 is intended to replace the UH-60 Black Hawk in the Army’s long-range assault mission. Bell is conducting the development with the Army under contract W58RGZ-23-C-0001, but has not announced a flight-test schedule.