As far as major US military development programmes are concerned, the US Army's Future Vertical Lift (FVL) effort is among the largest and most highly anticipated projects of the decade. Unlike many other high profile programmes, the scope of the modernisation effort that FVL represents will ultimately shape the future of US Army Aviation operations in its entirety, along with any allied air arms that opt to follow suit to retain commonality with the US. The two major ongoing sub-programmes within the FVL portfolio aim to source very different types of rotorcraft: a light attack/ scout helicopter and a next-generation utility aircraft. The former is being sourced through the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) project, while the latter will be selected in the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) programme -each of them just as important as the other, sharing a similar structure and will see two previously down-selected concepts compete against each other for the army's prestigious contract signature.
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