Video Above: Army Research Lab Scientists… Building New Explosives
Contributing Post: MG Rudolph Ostovich III, US Army Ret.
In just a few months the Army will decide which of two competing candidates will go forward to ultimately produce the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA). Though remarkably different in design, both candidates are mature concepts that have given Army leadership an opportunity to achieve its fly-before-buy approach, an important feature of the Army’s modernization initiative, and one that contributes to the community’s optimism that it will finally be able to successfully field a new major weapons system on time and at cost.
Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA)
One candidate has elected to remain with a traditional helicopter approach modified with a new compound, counter-rotating coaxial ridged rotor system augmented with a pusher prop or propulsor for additional speed at cruise. The other competitor offers an aircraft design that responds to the Army’s aggressive demand for speed and range by employing a modified tiltrotor that takes advantage of wing-born lift to achieve remarkable speed and range while retaining vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) characteristics. The two significantly different approaches should give Army senior leaders a clear choice as to which will best meet their expected capabilities.
That said, we need to be careful not to conclude that this is just another Army Aviation program simply intended to replace the existing inventory of UH-60 Black Hawks. It is not. This decision will change the way the Army fights. It is all about how our nation’s land force will maneuver in time and space with speed and range to achieve overwhelming combat power through convergence at the point of decision. It is about how our soldiers will fight should it be necessary across the plains of Europe, Africa or over the vast distances of water characteristic of the Indo-Pacific theater of operations.
Whether by foot, truck, track or aircraft, so is FLRAA all about moving soldiers to gain a position of advantage. Think of these aircraft as a means by which soldiers can now break free from the tyranny of terrain with incredible speed and range. In many ways, this single Future Vertical Lift (FVL) Program is the linchpin that connects many of the Army’s modernization initiatives such as long-range precision fires. Remember, whether at the squad or division level, maneuver involves movement and fires…and both will be needed to conduct large scale combat operations consistent with Multi-Domain Operational Doctrine.
Unfortunately, some recent articles predicting that the Bell V-280 Valor may win the competition, have fed skeptics with misinformation appealing to their false belief that FLRAA is simply not affordable. Often this issue rests not on the initial procurement cost, but on the cost of ownership. Sadly, this discussion, often employed to gain momentary marketing advantage, only serves to erode support for a program that is so essential to Army modernization.
At times like this, it is useful to fall back on the time tested and proven mnemonic, DOTMLPF-P (Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Leadership, Personnel, Facilities and Policy) to assess what if any impact FLRAA and the V-280 might have on the Army’s cost of ownership. Four among these categories, Training, Materiel, Personnel and Facilities, appear most relevant to structure a response to these harmful assertions.
