Bell has pulled the shroud off its Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) design for the Army after keeping it under wraps as a competition for a chance to build prototypes heats up. Several teams selected to develop FARA designs have been vocal and open about designs, but Bell which has been flying its V-280 Valor tiltrotor helicopter for nearly two years as part of an Army demonstration to inform the requirements for a long-range assault aircraft let the suspense build in this case. The only hint of its plans came from the CEO of Textron, Bell’s parent company, who said during an earnings call that the FARA design would be based on its 525 technology rather than its tiltrotor design like the V-280. The company revealed Oct. 1 at its Arlington, Virginia, office the Bell 360 Invictus, which is based on 525 technology, but with several key differences, including its size in order to adhere to the Army requirement of 40-foot in diameter rotor blades.
