The U.S. Army has officially named the MV-75 Future Long Range Assault Aircraft as Cheyenne II, in a tribute to the Cheyenne Tribes known for mobility, resilience, and disciplined strength.
The U.S. Army has officially announced that the MV-75 Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) will be named as Cheyenne II. The new popular name of the MV-75 continues the U.S. Army tradition of honoring Native American tribes with the names of its aircraft.
Cheyenne II
The service says the name to the legacy of the Cheyenne Tribes, which today are represented by the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Montana and the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes in Oklahoma. “Their spirit of mobility, resilience, and disciplined strength is what the name Cheyenne II represents,” explains the service in its statement.
The Army says it went through a deliberate process in evaluating more than 500 Native American tribes before making the final choice. The statement explains the MV-75’s speed, range, and adaptability mirrored the historical attributes of the Cheyenne tribes.
The name of the MV-75 Cheyenne II “reflects more than heritage – it reflects identity,” said Brent G. Ingraham, assistant secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology. “The Cheyenne people represent a resilient warrior culture and embody the key attributes of the MV-75 – speed, reach, lethality, and adaptability.”
This is not the first time the Army has adopted the name Cheyenne, as it was already used in the 1960s by the AH-56. Developed as a high-speed attack helicopter with a pusher propeller, the AH-56 Cheyenne did not ultimately proceed.
The MV-75
The Army acknowledged that the MV-75 Cheyenne II is the first entirely new platform to be introduced into the inventory since the 1980s. The tiltrotor will complement the helicopter currently in service, allowing to extend the reach of Army Aviation units.
Bell is excited to introduce the MV-75 Cheyenne II, the @USArmy’s official name for the FLRAA weapon system.
Consistent with the Army tradition of naming aircraft after Native American tribes, The MV-75 is named after the Cheyenne Tribes: two federally recognized nations with… pic.twitter.com/j7KR6Fbe7J
— Bell (@BellFlight) April 15, 2026
“The MV-75 Cheyenne II represents a new era of Army aviation, with capabilities that far exceed the current fleet,” said the service. With the publicly disclosed range of roughly 2,440 nautical miles, the MV-75 is said to be able to fly twice as fast and twice as far as the current UH-60M Black Hawk.
This allows “full squad insertion at extended range, expanding medevac reach well beyond today’s golden hour, and enabling large-scale, long-range air assault operations that can reshape the battlefield,” added Ingraham.
The Army initiated the FLRAA program in 2019 as part of its Future Vertical Lift initiative to replace a portion of its assault and utility helicopter fleet. The Bell V-280 Valor won the competition for the Army’s new helicopter in late 2022, with FLRAA becoming the only Future Vertical Lift (FVL) platform to move into the EMD phase.
Forged in resilience. Defined by courage. The Cheyenne heritage represents the speed, strength, and endurance the MV-75 will bring to future fight ahead. We honor their legacy with the next evolution of air maneuver.
Meet the Cheyenne II: https://t.co/yrnEqSy0h2#MV75 #FLRAA… pic.twitter.com/d9gAiNiYAE
— Bell (@BellFlight) April 15, 2026
The U.S. Army has officially designated MV-75 as the Mission Design Series (MDS) for the new aircraft in May 2025. The service explained the number “75” commemorates the Army’s founding year, 1775, while the MDS indicates “M” stands for multi-mission and “V” stands for vertical takeoff.
The first virtual prototype was accepted by the U.S. Army on June 24, 2025, at the Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, while the second on was delivered later that month to Fort Rucker’s Aviation Center of Excellence. These virtual prototypes are advanced simulators based on a digital twin of the FLRAA weapon system, explained the service.
In January 2026, then U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy A. George said the MV-75 might fly as soon as this year. The General motivated this by citing the urgency of rapidly integrating advanced capabilities in response to global technological shifts and battlefield needs.
On that occasion, we reached out to the U.S. Army to clarify this aspect and a spokesperson told us in an emailed statement that “the MV-75 prototype is scheduled to be delivered at the end of this calendar year and begin testing in early 2027.”
The service is closely guarding the timeline, and it is thus unclear when the first flight will actually take place. “It’s going to happen when it’s going to happen. So we are moving as fast as we can,” said Maj. Gen. Clair Gill, Program Acquisition Executive for Maneuver Air, according to Breaking Defense’s report.
The current timeline sees the MV-75 delivered to units in the 2031-2032 timeframe. The service already designated the 101st Airborne Division as the first unit to field the MV-75, and said special operations-specific requirements were incorporated into the FLRAA’s design to facilitate the introduction in the elite 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR).
