The U.S. Army has entered into a project arrangement with its British counterpart to work together on developing vertical lift rotorcraft and ensure interoperability between their future air assets.
The U.S. service branch said Monday the Future Vertical Lift Cooperative Program Feasibility Assessment project will task both armies to share insights on future rotorcraft requirements and programs and analyze new concepts involving the lower-tier air domain together.
The two countries will work together on projects such as the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft and the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft, with a goal of bridging the gap between U.S. and U.K. systems to keep up with emerging technologies and capabilities.
Other objectives of the collaboration include reducing rotorcraft development costs, schedule and performance risk; improving interoperability and integration; and promoting cooperative research, development, test and evaluation,
Maj. Gen. Walter Rugen, director of U.S. Army Future Command’s Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team, and Major. Gen. James Bowder, director for futures at the British Army, signed the agreement on behalf of their respective service branches in the U.K.
