The Army will use the Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP) engine being designed to replace the engines in UH-60 Black Hawk utility and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. The service plans to use a 3,000 horsepower engine. The Army is interested in the balance between weight and speed and is considering capability parameters such as reaching 180 knots and weighing less than 14,000 lbs. “It’s a better fit for the requirements package, it’s a better fit for the holistic weight approaches that we have for the aircraft, and allows us to make weight and performance trades to meet the Army mission,” she said.

While Bell could have operated “perfectly well” with the ducted tail rotor, Gonzalez said, “we decided for consistency of the airframe that we would go ahead and change the tail rotor design as well.”Ĭonsidering the need to ensure plenty of aircraft weight can be devoted to weapons and mission systems, “with our overall weight management approach, it makes the open tail rotor attractive such that this is the path that we’re going to go down,” she added.

Future military tanks and jets