US Army looking for Long Range Precision Munition shoot-off demonstration for FARA aircraft in 2022.

The US Army is looking for manufacturers to put forward potential Long Range Precision Munition (LRPM) candidates, to be integrated on Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA), for a “shoot-off” demonstration in 2022. The US Army wants the LRPM to be ready for FARA, first units of which will be fielded in 2028.

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Bell 360 Invictus  and Sikorsky Raider X (Picture source: Bell / Sikorsky)

The events, timing and particular circumstances of this announcement are subject to change based on Army missions, funding and priorities. It is the Army's intent to conduct this demonstration to inform the LRPM capabilities development and to inform the selection of a single or multiple vendors to build, integrate, test, and/or qualify on Army aviation platforms.

The Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program was initiated by the United States Army in 2018 to develop a successor to the Bell OH-58 Kiowa scout helicopter as part of the Future Vertical Lift program.

Design contracts for FARA candidates were awarded in April 2019 to five manufacturers: Karem Aircraft, AVX Aircraft (in partnership with L3Harris Technologies), Sikorsky Aircraft (owned by Lockheed Martin), Bell Helicopter and Boeing. Bell and Sikorsky have been selected in 2020 to proceed with their designs.