US Army announces 101st Airborne Division as first Bell V-280 FLRAA operating unit

The Bell V-280 demonstrator in flight. The US Army's 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, will be the type's first operating unit. (Bell)

The US Army's 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, is slated to become the first to operate the Bell V-280 Valor Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) when it enters service in 2030, US Army Vice Chief of Staff General James Mingus announced on 14 May at the Army Aviation Association of America 2025 conference in Nashville, Tennessee. The V-280 is intended to augment and eventually replace the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk as the army's primary utility helicopter.

The 101st Airborne's attached aviation unit is the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB), which operates 53 UH- and HH-60s of various models. Although which subunit will receive the first V-280s has not yet been determined, the most likely candidates are the 5th and 6th battalions, the 101st Airborne told Janes on 14 May.

The decision to first equip the 101st CAB “was based on their mission profile and theatre demands”, Gen Mingus said. “The 101st flies into real-world contested environments, across wide terrain, often without the luxury of fixed support infrastructure. They need speed, endurance, and reliability.”

“The operational insights from that first fielding will shape initial doctrine, sustainment models, and manoeuvre concepts,” Gen Mingus continued.

The 101st CAB specialises in long-range, rapid insertion air assaults. The unit has participated in several wargames and digital exercises to test potential V-280 tactics, the 101st Airborne told Janes , although the V-280 prototype has not yet visited the unit for a hands-on evaluation.