On 22 September, in anticipation of a US Marine Corps (USMC) requirement for a shipborne UAV capability, Bell Helicopter unveiled its V-247 Vigilant tiltrotor before an audience of aviation and military experts at the National Press Club in Washington DC.
The Vigilant satisfies the comprehensive spectrum of capabilities outlined in the 2016 Marine Corps Aviation Plan, and could be available for production as early as 2023.
According to Bell Helicopters, the tiltrotor is an unmanned aerial system (UAS) that will combine the vertical lift capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft.
"The revolutionary UAS is designed to provide unmatched long-endurance persistent expeditionary and surveillance capability and lethal reach, as well as runway independence to operate successfully in maritime environments and locations without secure runway availability," a company spokesperson said.
Mission sets include: ISREW, escort, C4, persistent fire missions and tactical distribution. It can be sized for compatibility with DDG class shipboard applications thanks to a Blade Fold Wing Stow design, has a cruising speed of 250 knots, a range of 450 nautical miles and a time on station of 11 hours.
Capable of air-to-air refueling, the UAS has an open architecture modular payload system allowing customisation by mission type. Bell said the weapons bays are designed to carry high definition sensors, fuel, sonar buoys, LiDAR modules, 360-degree surface radar modules, and MK-50 torpedo/Hellfire/JAGM missiles.
"The Bell V-247 Vigilant will give military customers the capabilities needed to reduce the complexity of deployment, increase speed of employment, reduce mission times and increase response time – all critical elements to completing missions to save lives and protect our freedom,” Vince Tobin, vice president, advanced tiltrotor systems said.