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MV75s
Scores of bipartisan lawmakers are calling on top leaders to continue funding for the Bell MV-75 Cheyenne II tiltrotor for the U.S. Army, as uncertain funding in recent months has caused unpredictable impacts on the program’s schedule.
Eighty-seven lawmakers led by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) and Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) signed a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought urging continued support for the tiltrotor. The MV-75 is set to replace much of the Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk fleet for U.S. Army aviation.
“As the department’s sole active vertical lift development program and a top modernization priority, the MV-75 is essential to ensuring our warfighters maintain decisive overmatch in contested environments,” the lawmakers say.
The letter does not appear in direct response to any funding threat for the overall program, though the Pentagon has called to reprogram funding for the MV-75 to avoid a potential stop work order because of funding running out in the fiscal year. Textron CEO Lisa Atherton said in July that the company would self-fund some activities of the aircraft to keep it on schedule while awaiting the reprogramming.
The MV-75 has been working toward an aggressive schedule, which appears impacted by the funding uncertainty. Maj. Gen. Clair Gill, the portfolio acquisition executive-maneuver air, said in August that delivery of the first prototype is now expected by the end of fiscal 2027. Former Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George had previously called for the delivery by the end of calendar year 2026.
“We have to make sure we execute this program with discipline,” Gill said during an industry day event in August.
In the letter, the lawmakers say the program will help pioneer the Pentagon’s open systems approach, inform programs for other services, increase defense industrial base resiliency and provide a “foundational capability for both current and future generations of American warfighters.”
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