U.S. Army adopts popular moniker ‘Cheyenne II’ for MV-75 FLRAA

The U.S. Army has selected Cheyenne II as the popular name for its Future Long Range Assault Aircraft and unveiled the aircraft’s official mission design series as MV-75, announcing both at the Army Aviation Association of America conference in Nashville on April 15, 2026.

The MV-75 is the Army’s next-generation, medium-class tiltrotor designed to replace portions of the current rotary-wing fleet. According to the service, the aircraft is expected to roughly double the range and speed of today’s helicopters while carrying a comparable payload, blending the vertical-lift versatility of a helicopter with the reach of a fixed-wing aircraft.

“The Cheyenne people represent a resilient warrior culture and embody the key attributes of the MV-75 – speed, reach, lethality, and adaptability,” said the HON Brent Ingraham, Army Acquisition Executive. “I am honored to be part of this historic occasion as we officially name our multi-mission tiltrotor aircraft.”

The Army said it considered more than 500 submissions drawn from tribes, Native American figures, and terms before choosing Cheyenne II, reviving a name last used for the AH-56 Cheyenne attack helicopter program of the late 1960s and early 1970s. While that earlier program was canceled, Army officials framed the new designation as a nod to innovation and speed. “Representing the future of Army aviation, the MV-75 embodies the strength and versatility of the Cheyenne tribes,” said MG Clair Gill, Portfolio Acquisition Executive and commanding general at Fort Rucker, Ala. “This aircraft will revolutionize how the Army fights and wins, delivering unmatched capabilities to the Joint Force and ensuring we maintain a decisive advantage on the battlefield.”

The service emphasized that the MV-75 is being developed with a modular, open-systems architecture and a digital backbone to ease upgrades over its lifecycle. It will incorporate fly-by-wire controls and advanced autonomy features intended to help crews operate in contested environments and to enable long-range air assault from standoff distances.

“This is a historic day for our MV-75 Cheyenne II team and the Army,” said Rodney Davis, Capability Program Executive, Aviation. “Stakeholders across the Army aviation enterprise were deeply involved in the research and analysis during the naming process. We are proud to honor the Cheyenne tribes and their legacy.”

Bell Textron was selected in December 2022 to develop the Army’s FLRAA platform following its V-280 Valor demonstrator, a tiltrotor that participated in the Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator program.

Program officials said the naming follows outreach to tribal stakeholders. “The MV-75 is a transformational aircraft that will provide our Joint Force with unparalleled versatility to dominate a wide array of mission sets,” said Col. Jeffrey Poquette, Project Manager for the MV-75 Cheyenne II. “We are honored to have the Cheyenne tribes’ approval to use their name, which embodies the power of this aircraft.”

Army leaders cast the MV-75 Cheyenne II as central to the service’s aviation modernization plans, describing it as a capability designed to keep pace with rapidly evolving threats and to integrate new technologies as they mature.