DARPA Selects Bell Textron for Next Phase of HSVTOL Aircraft Development | Aviation International News

DARPA Selects Bell for Next Phase of HSVTOL Development

Helicopter manufacturer will build an X-plane for Phase 2 of Pentagon’s SPRINT program

Bell Textron's SPRINT high-speed VTOL aircraft concept — Bell Textron says its high-speed VTOL aircraft, featuring a folding rotor propusion system, will be able to cruise at speeds in excess of 400 knots.

By Charles Alcock • Managing Editor

July 10, 2025

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has tasked Bell Textron with an X-plane demonstrator high-speed VTOL aircraft for its Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) program. On Wednesday, the manufacturer announced its selection for Phase 2 of this program, saying it is responsible for design, construction, ground testing and certification of the demonstrator in the build-up to Phase 3, which would involve flight testing.

During Phase 1A and 1B of the SPRINT program, Bell competed with Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences. DARPA’s objective is to support the development of a VTOL aircraft that can fly at speeds of between 400 and 450 knots. Its tiltrotor concept has been selected in preference to the Aurora design that featured a blended-wing-body concept incorporating three vertical lift rotorfans. Northrop Grumman and Piasecki Aircraft were also involved in Phase 1 of the process.

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