U.S. Army

Bell Announces $632M Next-Gen Assault Aircraft Factory in North Fort Worth, Creating Over 500 Jobs

by | Dec 18, 2024
Two years after winning the U.S. Army’s biggest helicopter competition in 40 years—replacing the famed Black Hawk with a Future Long Range Assault Aircraft—Fort Worth-based Bell Textron announced a new factory in AllianceTexas will manufacture components for the next-gen tilt-rotor aircraft.
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California EV Company Canoo Relocates Its HQ to North Texas
by | Aug 28, 2024
Based out of its facility in Justin, a city north of Fort Worth, Canoo's HQ is within easy EV range of its DFW-based CEO, Tony Aquila. Now, with thousands of EV orders on the books from Walmart and other companies—and test vehicles humming about for the USPS, U.S. Army, NASA, and more—Canoo has some growing to do.
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Fort Worth’s Bell Textron Gets U.S. Army Approval To Build ‘Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft’ Prototypes
by | Aug 5, 2024
Slated to replace the Army's famed Black Hawk combat attack helicopter—and potentially worth $70 billion across the life of the fleet—Bell's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft deploys mature tiltrotor technology and innovative digital engineering. Bell says it will be "the most reliable, affordable, and high-performing long-range assault aircraft in the world."
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The Last Word: The U.S. Army’s Douglas Bush on a Major New Artillery Shell Casings Plant in Mesquite
by | May 29, 2024
Last year, we told you about General Dynamics planning to open a major new artillery casings plant in the Mesquite 635 industrial park at LBJ Freeway at U.S. Highway 80 east of Dallas. Today the New York Times reported that the plant will soon be producing about 30,000 steel shell casings each month for 155-millimeter howitzers, nearly doubling the current U.S. manufacturing output. 
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Bell Opens New Weapon Systems Integration Lab in Arlington

by | Mar 27, 2024
The facility will support the "safe, rapid, and efficient" integration and test of next-gen fly-by-wire tiltrotor and mission systems, using a modular open systems approach for the U.S. Army's Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, Bell said.
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Raytheon Awarded $154M to Produce Commander’s Viewer Units for U.S. Army in North Texas
by | Jan 24, 2024
To be produced at Raytheon's McKinney campus, the CIV is an "electro-optical/infrared sight system" using second-generation forward-looking infrared cameras and sensors. It's slated to provide the U.S. Army's Bradley Fighting Vehicle with "360-degree battlefield oversight and targeting capabilities," the defense contractor said.
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Raytheon, Now Rebranded as RTX, Inks $117.5M U.S. Army Contract for Advanced Targeting Sensor Systems
by | Jul 10, 2023
The advanced infrared targeting sensor systems "enhance lethality, survivability, and situational awareness in austere environments, providing combat overmatch for the Army's ground combat platforms," RTX said in a statement, adding that the Dallas suburb of McKinney will be the primary work location for the project.
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Fort Worth’s Bell Will Replace the Army’s Famed Black Hawk in Contract Win Worth Billions

by | Dec 7, 2022
The Army's biggest helicopter competition in 40 years has a winner in Fort Worth. Bell Textron's V-280 Valor is slated to replace around 2,000 Black Hawk helicopters by 2030—with a tiltrotor design that lets it take off like a chopper and fly like a plane. Designed for long-range assault missions, the Valor's initial contract is worth up to $1.3 billion. But the program could ultimately be worth $70 billion across the life of the fleet, including foreign military sales, Defense News reports.
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Marine Vet Creates Evacuation Tech To Light Up ‘Pathways To Safety’ in an Emergency
by | Jun 21, 2022
Go-To-Green's patented audio-visual system can detect both the sound of a fired gunshot and the pressure change made by a bullet in the air. The system lights up to direct people to the safest exit—and tracks the source of shots.

In North Texas, the system is currently being installed in Anna's city hall, and talks are underway with three school systems and a grocery chain, the startup's CEO told us.
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Grapevine’s BILT Is Testing Its 3D Instruction App With the U.S. Military
by | May 24, 2022
BILT has spent years helping consumers assemble BBQ grills, treadmills, and other products with its 3D interactive instructions app. Now—with millions in funding and contracts with the U.S. Air Force and Navy—it's hired a lobbying firm to help get the BILT app in the hands of America's armed services.

"They're hungry for innovation, and they're hungry for innovative ways to get around the traditional procurement process which usually blocks out small businesses," BILT's co-founder told Dallas Innovates.
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A Laser Built in McKinney Can Destroy Drones, Mortar Rounds, and More
by | May 18, 2022
Raytheon's Intelligence & Space campus in McKinney is producing 50kW-class high energy laser systems that can blast enemy drones, mortar rounds, and other dangerous targets right out of the sky, before they can endanger U.S troops.

The directed energy weapon system was recently tested while mounted on a U.S. Army Stryker at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. It successfully acquired, tracked, targeted, and defeated multiple targets.
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U.S. Army

On Our Radar: U.S. Army Seeks Home for Military Innovation Office

by | Mar 13, 2018
The new command will be tasked with bringing new technologies online, and would be set in a more corporate environment.
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