Bell 360 Invictus

The Bell 360 Invictus is a proposed helicopter design intended to meet the United States Army requirement for a Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA). It is based on technology from the Bell 525 Relentless.

Design
Scott C. Donnelly, CEO of Textron, has said in April 2019 that the 360 will be based on the 525. The 360 and 525 will share an articulated rotor system, although the 360, which will only seat two (a pilot and gunner), will use a single engine and a four-blade rotor, whereas the 525 uses twin engines and a five-blade rotor and has a nineteen passenger capacity. Bell has since announced it is developing the 360 with Collins Aerospace Systems.

The design was unveiled on 1 October 2019, showing a two seat tandem cockpit, with sighting optics and/or laser designator above a 20mm cannon gun turret at the chin position below the cockpit, mid-mounted stub wings below the shrouded rotor hub and four 40 foot diameter rotor blades, an active horizontal stabiliser and a tilted and shrouded tail rotor. Missiles are mounted on integrated launchers. The rotor diameter is dictated by US Army requirements, which specified that maximum diameter for FARA candidates to allow the rotorcraft to fit between buildings on future battlefields. It will be powered by a single engine derived from the Improved Turbine Engine Program (ITEP) by General Electric.

The US Army requirement calls for a cruising speed in excess of 180 knot, and the 360 is intended to meet this; the 525 rotor system has been tested to exceed 200 knot. The stub wings are intended to provide lift equivalent to approximately 50% of the weight of the aircraft at moderate to high speed. Combat radius will be 135 nmi with at least 90 minutes time on station. It will use fly by wire control.

Bell unveiled a full-scale mockup of the 360 at the Association of the United States Army annual show beginning 14 October 2019.