Army aviation industry targets R&D programs.

With no upcoming new-start Army aviation programs in the years ahead, industry is focused on science and technology programs that could improve future helicopters' capabilities including range, speed and payload.

The Army recently announced Bell Helicopter and a Sikorsky-Boeing team will design, build and fly joint multirole demonstrator aircraft capable of flying 230 knots--about 30 knots faster than a UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter.

Since their selection, the companies are finalizing designs ahead of the critical design review next summer, executives from Bell and Sikorsky-Boeing said at the conference. Both contractors will fly aircraft in fiscal year 2017.

Bell is offering the V-280 Valor tiltrotor, a clean-sheet design that applies some of the lessons learned while building the V-22 Osprey, said program manager Keith Flail.

Boeing-Sikorsky is building the SB-1 Defiant, a coaxial helicopter featuring counter-rotating rigid main rotor blades on top and a pusher propeller in the rear

"Right now we're already practicing bending metal. We're doing some manufacturing risk reduction elements ... on our rotor blades, which...