TheTechno Optimist.

MV-75 Cheyenne IIBell Textron—Army says first MV-75 will be delivered for testing by end-2026 as it speeds up fieldingMV-75 Cheyenne IIBell Textron—Army names its new tiltrotor the MV-75 Cheyenne IIMV-75 Cheyenne IIBell Textron—Bell completes wing structures for the first two MV-75 test aircraft; six of eight in assembly

Bell Textron

Tiltrotors, military and civil helicopters

USTextron-ownedest. 1935bellflight.com (opens bellflight.com)Checked 11 Oct

The brief

Analyst view
  • Won the US Army's Future Long Range Assault Aircraft contest in Dec 2022, a programme estimated at about $70B.
  • The Army may buy up to 334 MV-75s by 2040; the first test aircraft is due around end-2026 or early 2027.
  • Danny Maldonado became president and CEO in January 2026.

Technical approach

As reported
Tiltrotor

Helicopter takeoff, airplane cruise

Rotors on the wingtips lift like a helicopter, then tilt forward to pull the aircraft along while the wing carries its weight, roughly doubling speed.

Simpler design

Lessons from the V-22

On the MV-75 only the rotors and gearboxes tilt, not the engines, and the wing is straight, removing parts the older V-22 needs.

Open systems

Upgradable digital backbone

A modular open architecture lets the Army add or swap software and sensors from other suppliers without going back to Bell each time.

Primer