Bell Helicopter has won a major contract to supply the Pentagon with a new, multirole and speedy light attack aircraft. It’s a tiltrotor, and it defeated a competing coaxial compound helicopter from a Lockheed/Boeing consortium. Tilt rotors aren’t new, with V-22 Osprey variants operating in U.S. military service for years, but detractors of that program have pointed to high early accident rates and maintainability issues as evidence that tiltrotors can’t replace pure helicopters for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) assault and light cargo applications. The new Textron Bell V-280 Valor is a smaller and lighter aircraft than the Osprey, and with modern technology, promises to address the shortcomings of the older platform. If it delivers reliability and safety in service, it will allow fixed wing speeds with helicopter-like vertical lift capability, a game changer for military aviation—and perhaps urban civilian aeronautics, too. Want to watch this podcast as a video? This Week in Engineering is available on engineering.com TV along with all of our other shows such as End of the Line, Designing the Future, and, Manufacturing the Future.