Special Operations Command Is Now Seeking A High-Speed VTOL Aircraft
The special ops folks want something that is far faster than the CV-22 and even leapfrogs the next generation of high-speed rotorcraft technology.
By Thomas Newdick May 20, 2021
The War Zone
Bell HSVTOL study
USTPO (Trademark and Patent Office)
New details have emerged of U.S. Special Operations Command’s interest in a new High-Speed Vertical Take-Off and Landing, or HSVTOL, aircraft concept. Air Force Colonel Ken Kuebler, the command's Program Executive Officer for Fixed Wing, confirmed that the command is looking at multiple options to meet this general requirement, which could ultimately lead to a replacement for the Air Force’s CV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, among others.
“We're really looking at the next generation of high-speed vertical takeoff and landing,” Colonel Kuebler told a media roundtable yesterday as part of the 2021 Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC). “I am interested in a lot of and even all of what industry has to offer.”
U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Markus Maier
The CV-22B Osprey is one platform that a future HSVTOL aircraft is likely to replace.
“As you can imagine, making that capability into reality is technically hard, especially when we start talking about what might high speed be,” Kuebler added. "So, if industry has an idea, whether it’s from the engine to the platform itself, I would tell you, we’re interested in hearing about, learning about it, seeing what can be done.”
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/40712/special-operations-command-is-now-seeking-a-high-speed-vtol-aircraft
