Rolls-Royce ready to deliver as FLRAA achieves Milestone B

Rolls-Royce is one step closer to powering the next generation aircraft for the U.S. Army. On August 2, the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) became an official program of record when the U.S. Army announced its Milestone B decision, moving the program, led by prime contractor Bell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc. company, into the engineering and manufacturing development phase.

As part of Team FLRAA, Rolls-Royce will deliver a complete propulsion solution for the tiltrotor aircraft, featuring two AE 1107F engines and a fully integrated system design. The AE 1107F engine is the continued evolution of our proven AE engine family, providing the performance and reliability needed to power the transformational capabilities of FLRAA.

Cathy Welch, Program Director - FLRAA for Rolls-Royce Defense, said:

The Milestone B decision is a testament to the strength of Team FLRAA and the confidence the U.S. Army continues to show in this key modernization program. Rolls-Royce is thrilled to reach this historic milestone with our teammates at Bell and the U.S. Army, and as FLRAA moves into the engineering and manufacturing development phase, we are keeping our sights set on delivering revolutionary capabilities to the U.S. Army."


 

Since 2015, Rolls-Royce has invested more than $1 billion in modernizing its Indianapolis facilities to deliver innovation and advanced manufacturing to the U.S. Army and other customers with American labor. The AE1107F engine will be manufactured, assembled and tested in Indianapolis, Rolls-Royce’s largest production facility in the U.S.

The AE engine family has achieved 88 million flight hours of service worldwide. The AE 1107C engine has completed 1.4 million flight hours with more than two decades of service on the V-22 Osprey. The AE 1107F will build off that proven pedigree to power FLRAA and deliver twice the speed and twice the range of any traditional rotorcraft platform in the current U.S. Army fleet.

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