---
title: "The Army has selected the V-280 Valor to replace its Black Hawk fleet"
description: "The Army has officially selected the Bell’s V-280 Valor to replace the service's beloved Black Hawk helicopter fleet."
date: "2022-12-05"
modified: "2022-12-05"
authors:
  - name: "Jared Keller"
    job_title: "Former Managing Editor"
    link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jaredkeller/"
url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/tech-tactics/army-bell-v-280-valor-black-hawk-replacement/"
categories:
  - "Aircraft"
  - "Army"
  - "Helicopters"
  - "Military Branches"
  - "News"
  - "Tech & Tactics"
---

# The Army has selected the V-280 Valor to replace its Black Hawk fleet

![Bell V-280 Valor army](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/05/Bell-V-280-Valor_resized.jpeg>)
*The V-280 Valor. (Bell)*

The Army has officially selected the Bell’s V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft to replace the beloved UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that has ferried soldiers into combat for the last half-century.

The V-280 Valor beat out the Sikorsky-Boeing SB-1 Defiant compound coaxial helicopter to win the service’s years-long Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) competition, the service announced on Monday.

Breaking Defense first [reported news ](<https://breakingdefense.com/2022/12/bells-valor-wins-armys-future-long-range-assault-aircraft-competition-to-replace-black-hawk/>)of the Army’s FLRAA decision.

“The thoughtful and disciplined execution of the FLRAA program strategy will deliver the transformational capabilities we need to support the Joint force, strengthen deterrence and win in multi-domain operations,” Douglas Bush, the assistant secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, [said](<https://breakingdefense.com/2022/12/bells-valor-wins-armys-future-long-range-assault-aircraft-competition-to-replace-black-hawk/>) in a news release.

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According to Bell, the Valor [boasts](<https://www.bellhelicopter.com/military/bell-v-280>) a top speed of 280 knots (hence, somewhat cheekily, the “V-280” designation) and a range of up to 800 nautical miles, double the top speed and operational range of the tried-and-true Black Hawk.

As Task & Purpose previously reported, the Valor can [purportedly haul](<https://taskandpurpose.com/news/bell-v-280-valor-prototype/>) up to 23% more troops and 25% more cargo than the Black Hawk as well.

*This is a breaking story and will be updated with more information as it becomes available*

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## Author
Jared Keller is the former managing editor of Task & Purpose. His writing has appeared in Aeon, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post, among other publications.

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