Bell has completed the wing structures for the first two MV-75 Cheyenne II tiltrotors, which will soon be joined to the fuselage and engine nacelles, which are currently undergoing assembly.
Bell announced that it has completed the wing structures for the first two MV-75 Cheyenne II tiltrotors. This milestone further advances the production of the first eight test aircraft, six of which are currently in various stages of assembly.
During system integration, these wings are combined with other components. Among them are the fuselage, which is currently being assembled at the Wichita Assembly Center, and the nacelle, which is also undergoing assembly.
Bell explained that the wings are the core structure of the MV-75 because they “provide the structural backbone of the aircraft with great strength, optimized stiffness, and improved survivability.” The company described the components as saying the wing is made of composite wing skins and spars with a custom aluminum substructure, all produced and assembled in-house.
In particular, Bell noted that production of the first wing, completed in February 2026, “required 90 percent fewer labor hours compared to building the initial V-22 wing.” Lessons learned allowed for “an additional 40 percent reduction” during second wing production compared to the V-22 Osprey.
“After decades of building V-22 wings, we’ve learned new ways to do things better, faster and smarter by proactively implementing these lessons into our designs,” said Culley Shafer, Bell’s Amarillo operations director. “The team is constantly evolving, making adjustments, improving sequences and implementing engineering changes to continue to raise the bar for quality, safety and efficiency.”
Bell also said it is making significant progress on its MV-75 test aircraft and is accelerating the test phase and production of the program. Delivery of the first MV-75 prototype is currently scheduled for the end of 2026, with initial flight testing scheduled to begin in early 2027.
MV-75
In April 2026, the U.S. Army officially announced that the MV-75 Future Long Range Attack Aircraft (FLRAA) will be named Cheyenne II, continuing the Air Force’s tradition of honoring Native American tribes in aircraft names. The Army explained that the MV-75’s speed, range and adaptability reflect the historical characteristics of the Cheyenne tribe.
The service also acknowledged that the MV-75 Cheyenne II is the first completely new platform to be introduced to the inventory since the 1980s. The tiltrotor can complement currently operational helicopters and extend the reach of Army aviation units.
“The MV-75 Cheyenne II represents a new era in Army aviation with capabilities that far exceed the current fleet,” the U.S. Army said. The published range is approximately 2,440 nautical miles, and the MV-75 is said to be able to fly twice as fast and twice as far as the existing UH-60M Black Hawk.
The Army launched the FLRAA program in 2019 as part of its Future Vertical Lift Initiative to replace a portion of its attack and utility helicopter fleet. The Bell V-280 Valor won the Army’s new helicopter competition in late 2022, making FLRAA the only Future Vertical Lift (FVL) platform to transition to the EMD phase.
The U.S. Army officially designated the MV-75 as the Mission Design Series (MDS) for the new aircraft in May 2025. He explained that the number ’75’ commemorates the year of the Army’s founding in 1775, while the ‘M’ in MDS stands for Multi Mission and the ‘V’ stands for Vertical Takeoff.
The first virtual prototype was accepted by the U.S. Army at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, on June 24, 2025, and the second prototype was delivered to the Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker later that month. These virtual prototypes are advanced simulators based on the digital twin of the FLRAA weapon system, the service explained.
In January 2026, then-US Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy A. George said the MV-75 could be flying as early as this year. The general motivated this by noting the urgent need to rapidly integrate advanced capabilities in response to global technological change and battlefield demands.
At the time, we reached out to the US Army to clarify this aspect and a spokesperson said in an emailed statement: “The MV-75 prototype is expected to be delivered later this year and begin testing in early 2027.”
The service is closely monitoring its timeline, so it’s unclear when the first flight will actually take place. “When this happens, it will happen, so we’re moving as quickly as possible,” said Rear Admiral Clair Gill, Maneuver Air’s director of program acquisition. ‘Destroy defense’report.
According to the current schedule, the MV-75 will be delivered to the troops in the period 2031-2032. The U.S. Army has already designated the 101st Airborne Division as the first unit to field the MV-75, and says special operations-specific requirements have been incorporated into the FLRAA’s design to expedite adoption by the elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR).
