Jerry Petersen
Bell Textron held on March 11 the grand opening of a new weapon systems integration lab at its Flight Research Center in Arlington, Texas.
The 47,000-square-foot facility will serve as home to future development programs, including the U.S. Army’s Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, Bell Textron said Monday.
For the FLRAA, the facility will use a modular open systems approach in integrating various mission systems like avionics, sensors and hydraulics with fly-by-wire systems.
Regarding the opening of the facility, Bell Senior Vice President and FLRAA Program Director Ryan Ehinger said, “This dedicated SIL supports the application, verification and validation of Bell’s innovative digital engineering approach and open architecture, playing a critical role in delivering outstanding operational performance and versatility to the U.S. Army.”
Construction of the systems integration lab began in 2021.
