Bell Textron will build the U.S. Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft, or FLRAA, fuselages in Wichita, Kansas, the company announced this week.

The company won the Army’s bid to build FLRAA in late 2022 following a competition in which it and a Sikorsky-Boeing team flew technology demonstrators for several years to evaluate aircraft capabilities and drive out risk to a future program of record.

Bell will use an existing facility near Textron Aviation Defense and plans to start work there “in the next several months,” according to a statement.

The company will also conduct supporting work at several of its advanced manufacturing facilities in Texas, like its Advanced Composite Center in Fort Worth. Final assembly will take place in Amarillo.

The Army’s FLRAA program moved out of technology development and into the critical engineering and manufacturing development phase in August.

The FLRAA program is estimated to be worth approximately $70 billion across its lifespan, including foreign military sales, and is set to replace roughly 2,000 Black Hawk utility helicopters.

The future advanced tiltrotor will not serve as a one-for-one replacement for existing aircraft, but it is expected around 2030 to take over the roles of the Black Hawk, long the Army’s workhorse.

The FLRAA program’s initial unit has already been delayed by one year due to protests by Sikorsky’s parent company, Lockheed Martin, over the service’s choice of Textron Bell’s advanced tiltrotor design. Sikorsky and Boeing’s design featured coaxial rotor blades.

The Government Accountability Office rejected Lockheed’s protest in April 2023.

The Army will now equip the first unit with the capability in fiscal 2031. A limited user test is expected sometime in FY27 to FY28.

The contract award in 2022 includes nine options — entering the engineering and manufacturing development phase means the Army will exercise the first option, under which Bell will deliver detailed aircraft design and build six prototypes.

The first aircraft in this phase is expected to fly in 2026, with low-rate initial production slated to begin in 2028.

“As Bell prepares for the next stage of FLRAA’s engineering and manufacturing development phase, we are committed to investing in advanced manufacturing to ensure we deliver exceptional performance at an affordable cost to our customer, Lisa Atherton, Bell’s president and CEO, said in the statement.

“Textron has a rich history with the state of Kansas as well as the city of Wichita,” she said, “and we are proud to deepen that relationship as we establish this new facility.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The first message that made its way through the Iowa State locker room after Texas Tech ended its perfect start to the season, scoring in the final seconds last weekend to spring the upset and spoil homecoming for the Cyclones, was that nothing had changed.

“Hey,” Cyclones linebacker Kooper Ebel recalled his team saying, “all of our dreams, all our aspirations are still right in line.”

They will be if the No. 17 Cyclones (7-1, 4-1 Big 12, No. 17 CFP) can get back on track Saturday against Kansas.

Iowa State is only a game behind unbeaten BYU in the conference and tied with Colorado, neither of which Matt Campbell’s team would play until a potential Big 12 title showdown. But the top of the standings are a jumbled mess, and another slip-up against the desperate Jayhawks (2-6, 1-4) in their matchup at Arrowhead Stadium could be a crippling blow to not only the Cyclones’ title aspirations but also their hopes of landing in the College Football Playoff.

“I would say there’s definitely a sense of urgency, like there has been all season, but even more prominent here at practice,” Ebel said. “There was a sense of urgency to row and get better. At times, we’re just inches off, and those inches really matter, and they showed up last Saturday. We’re honing in on those details — those little details.”

The Jayhawks, who had last week off, are just as in need of a win as the Cyclones. They have lost their six games by a combined 30 points, the latest the most gut-wrenching yet: a loss to rival Kansas State on a field goal in the closing minutes.

Now, the Jayhawks need to win out just to reach a third straight bowl game. They not only face the Cyclones, they also have games against No. 9 BYU and No. 21 Colorado in successive weeks.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of this football team, of how they’ve stuck together, through frustration and disappointment,” Kansas coach Lance Leipold said. “They continue to work hard and be coachable. They continue to see the margin is very small and own it, that we haven’t made the plays at the right opportunities. … But at the same time, they continue to work hard and see that winning football is not far from our grasp.”

Bye, bye, bye

The Jayhawks have won four straight when they have at least an extra week to prepare, dating to the 2022 season, and a couple of them have been notable. They beat No. 18 Oklahoma State two years ago and No. 6 Oklahoma last season.

“Obviously we’ve had decent success off of it,” Leipold said, “and hopefully it can repeat itself.”

Strange surroundings

The Jayhawks won the first meeting of the schools 11-6 on Oct. 15, 1898, and the teams have played 103 times — with six ties — over the years. But this will be the first time they play anywhere other than Ames, Iowa, or Lawrence, Kansas, instead meeting at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, while the Jayhawks renovate their campus stadium.

“It will be really cool just to be able to play in a stadium like that,” said Iowa State wide receiver Jaylin Noel, who grew up across the state line in Kansas City, Kansas, and was a standout at Park Hill High School. “I grew up going to games there and watching my favorite team there so, yeah, it’ll be pretty cool.”

Record watch

Kansas running back Devin Neal needs seven yards rushing to break June Henley’s school record of 3,841, which he set from 1993-96. The native of Lawrence, Kansas, also needs just one TD run to break Henley’s record of 41.

“We all know in this room what kind of person he is, his contributions off the field,” Leipold said. “What I’ll always remember is the guy who walks in the building every day and you know, from where he was as a freshman to where he is now as a confident young adult is probably impresses me most.”

Better starts

Iowa State’s defense has struggled on the opening possession in each of its last four games. Texas Tech, UCF and West Virginia each drove 75 yards for a touchdown while Baylor needed to go just 59 yards for a score.

“Sometimes I think a little bit of it is we know who we are, our base defense, and some people scheme us up pretty well early in the game and we have to make some adjustments,” Campbell said. “What’s most impressive is when maybe it hasn’t gone well right away is our kids’ ability to hang in there, reverse the tide and give ourselves a best chance.”

Data Skrive

The No. 17 Iowa State Cyclones (7-1) visit the Kansas Jayhawks (2-6) on Saturday, November 9, 2024 in a matchup between Big 12 rivals at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas is a 3-point underdog. The over/under is 50.5 for this matchup.

In their most recent action, the Cyclones lost versus the Texas Tech Red Raiders, 23-22. The Jayhawks lost against the Kansas State Wildcats in their last game, 29-27.

Keep up with college football all season on FOX Sports.

Iowa State vs. Kansas Game Information & Odds

• When: Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 3:30 p.m. ET
• Location: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri
• TV: Fox Sports 1
• Live Box Score on FOX Sports

More College Football Predictions

• Texas vs. Florida Predictions
• Cincinnati vs. West Virginia Predictions

Iowa State vs. Kansas Prediction

• Pick ATS:

  Iowa State (-3)
  
  

• Pick OU: Over (50.5)
  
• Prediction: Iowa State 33, Kansas 19

Predictions are made by the Data Skrive betting model.

Learn more about the Iowa State Cyclones vs. the Kansas Jayhawks game on FOX Sports!

Iowa State vs. Kansas Betting Insights

• Based on the spread and over/under, the implied score for the tilt is Cyclones 27, Jayhawks 24.
• The Cyclones have a 59.3% chance to win this game per the moneyline’s implied probability. The Jayhawks have a 45.2% implied probability.
• Iowa State is 5-2-0 ATS this season.
• Kansas has covered twice in seven chances against the spread this season.

Iowa State vs. Kansas: Head-to-Head

• Over their last three meetings, Kansas has totaled two wins versus Iowa State.
• The last three times the Jayhawks have played the Cyclones, they have put up a 2-1 record against the spread. The scoring has gone over the point total on one occasion.
• Kansas has been outscored by 42 points in its last three tilts versus Iowa State.

Iowa State vs. Kansas: 2024 Stats Comparison

Iowa State 2024 Key Players

Kansas 2024 Key Players

FOX Sports created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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