FORT CAMPBELL, KY (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The 101st Airborne Division will be the first to field and operate the newly developed MV-75 Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA).
Gen. James Mingus, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, announced the news during the annual Army Aviation Association of America conference on Wednesday in Nashville, according to a news release.
“The 101st is a formation built to deploy rapidly and operate in austere conditions,” Mingus said in the release. “(They) fly into real-world contested environments, across wide terrain, often without the luxury of fixed support infrastructure. They need speed, endurance and reliability.”
As reported by Clarksville Now in December 2022, the Bell Textron’s Valor tiltrotor will eventually replace the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, utilized by 5th and 6th Battalions, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade. The recently-named “MV-75” is scheduled to begin arriving at Fort Campbell in 2030, and the Army is exploring options to accelerate the process as part of the Army’s Transformation Initiative.
| MORE: Video of the Bell Textron’s Valor tiltrotor in flight
“We are proud and excited that the first operational MV-75s will go to Fort Campbell,” said Brig. Gen. Travis McIntosh, deputy commanding general for support, 101st. “As the pioneers and experts on Large-Scale Long-Range Air Assault operations, there is no better place to train and implement aircraft. We will continue to drive Army innovation at the forefront in the next evolution of vertical envelopment.”
The new aircraft is named to honor the birthdate of the U.S. Army. “M stands for multi-mission and the V stands for vertical takeoff and landing. The number 75 is a homage to 1775, the birth year of the United States Army,” said Maj. Daniel Mathews, Public Affairs Advisor to the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army. “This is a vertical takeoff tiltrotor medium lift tactical assault and medical evacuation aircraft that will provide the Army with long-range, high-speed options that are survivable in contested environments.”
| MORE: News about Fort Campbell and the 101st Airborne Division
