It would have a cargo capacity roughly equivalent to the C-130 Hercules, cruise at 250 knots, and land at unimproved sites vertically like a helicopter.

The Bell Boeing team disclosed a Quad TiltRotor design in 1999 which the companies had been investigating during the previous two years.

[2] From 2000 to 2006, studies of the aerodynamics and performance of a Quad Tilt Rotor were conducted at the University of Maryland, College Park.

[6] In September 2005, Bell and Boeing received a cost-sharing contract worth US$3.45 million from the U.S. Army's Aviation Applied Technology Directorate for an 18-month conceptual design and analysis study lasting through March 2007, in conjunction with the Joint Heavy Lift program.

[13] In mid-2008, the U.S. Army continued the Joint Heavy Lift (JHL) studies with new contracts to the Bell-Boeing and Karem Aircraft/Lockheed Martin teams.

The C-130-size fuselage would have a 747-inch (19.0 m) cargo bay with a rear loading ramp that could carry 110 paratroopers or 150 standard-seating passengers.

This baseline version includes a fully retractable refueling probe and an interconnecting drive system for power redundancy.

[9] One of the design excursions explored, dubbed the "Big Boy", would have 55-foot (17 m) rotors and an 815-inch (20.7 m) cargo bay, making it able to carry one additional 463L pallet and accommodate a Stryker armored combat vehicle.