• Defence Helicopter

  Sea-Air-Space 2019: FAA to sign off on TH-119 IFR certification

  7th May 2019

  The FAA is due to approve IFR certification for Leonardo’s US Navy TH-XX training helicopter entrant – the TH-119 single engine aircraft – within ‘the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Bell plans to build 407GXi in Ozark

  25th April 2019

  Bell Helicopter has proposed its final assembly plans for the Bell 407GXi aircraft, Textron announced on 18 April. Should the Bell 407GXi be selected for …

• Defence Helicopter

  Insight: What next for the FARA five?

  24th April 2019

  The US Army’s decision to select five industry design proposals for its Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) competition can be read as a first clear …

• Defence Helicopter

  Quad A 2019:​ Bell makes V-280 FLRAA tri-service pitch

  18th April 2019

  Based on its recent Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) RfI submission, Bell is confident the company’s Joint Multi-Role-Technology Demonstrator (JMR-TD) the V-280 Valor tiltrotor can …

• Defence Helicopter

  PDAS flies on V-280 Valor

  19th April 2019

  Lockheed Martin's Pilotage Distributed Aperture Sensor (PDAS) system has flown aboard Bell Helicopter's V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft in Fort Worth, Texas, the company announced on …

• Defence Helicopter

  Airbus sidesteps cause of FARA exclusion

  26th April 2019

  After its Future Attack Reconnaisance Aircraft (FARA) X3 high speed technology based proposal was deemed unacceptable by the US Army and excluded from a list of …

• Defence Helicopter

  Kaman receives AH-1Z blade skin contract

  4th April 2019

  Kaman Composites Wichita will manufacture and supply composite skin to core assembly structural components for the Bell AH-1Z helicopter blades, Kaman announced on 1 April. …

• Land Warfare

  US Army orders gunner display systems

  8th April 2019

  Palomar Display Products has received a $40.7 million contract add-on modification to deliver gunner display systems for the US Army's M1 Abrams tank, the company …

• Defence Helicopter

  Quad A 2019: AVX and L3T show FARA hand

  15th April 2019

  Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) partners AVX Aircraft Company and L3 Technologies (L3T) have revealed a compound coaxial helicopter design proposal for the US Army …

• Defence Helicopter

  Bell, Rolls-Royce partner on advanced propulsion systems

  26th March 2019

  Bell Helicopter has signed a teaming agreement with Rolls-Royce for the development of an optimised propulsion system and continued risk reduction efforts aimed at the …

• Defence Helicopter

  AUSA Global 2019: Army keen to open up FVL competition phase

  27th March 2019

  US Army Aviation is keen to move the Future Vertical Lift (FVL) programme into the competition phase but is still considering an extension of the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Airbus looks to France and Germany to fill MUM-T partner gap

  27th March 2019

  Following a successful series of flight trials between the H145 and Schiebel Camcopter S-100 UAS last year, Airbus is still struggling to find funding and partners …

• Defence Helicopter

  Japanese OH-1 returns to duty

  12th March 2019

  The OH-1, a light observation helicopter type belonging to the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF), has been cleared to begin flying again after a fleet-wide …

• Defence Helicopter

  Poland plans to modernise its combat helicopter fleet

  21st March 2019

  Warsaw’s Armament Inspectorate will launch a technical dialogue to determine a preferred scope and timeline for the planned modernisation of a fleet of Polish Mi-24 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Heli-Expo 2019: Bell takes diplomatic approach to FVL funding

  3rd March 2019

  Ahead of the highly anticipated US Presidential Budget 2019 scheduled for March, Bell is remaining non-committal to any suggestion that low level FVL funding could jeopardise …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Bell 412EPI-Indonesia Forecast

  Programme Background PTDI is assembling Bell helicopters in its factory in Bandung.  The first Bell 412EPI was delivered to the Indonesian Army on 29 December ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Army)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (South Korea - Navy)

  Programme Background Requirement South Korea operates an ageing fleet of Bell UH-1s and MD 500s for training purposes. The country has already replaced a part of ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Bell 412EPI-Indonesia

  Programme Background PTDI is assembling Bell helicopters in its factory in Bandung.  The first Bell 412EPI was delivered to Indonesian Army on 29 December 2020 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Bell 412EP [Zambia]

  Programme Background  In January 2025, the US State Department approved an FMS of Bell 412EP helicopters along with the necessary training and logistical support services ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  Bell 407GX

  The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency noted that the proposed sale of five Bell 407GX helicopters will help compensate for the combat loss of seven IA407 helicopters ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  AH-X [Japan]

  There is no mention of the AH-X in the 2019-2023 Medium Term Defence Plan, so it is possible that the requirement has quietly been postponed. ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505 (Jordan)

  Programme Background Requirement The Jordanian Air Force has a requirement for training helicopters that are to be used in the King Hussein Air College. The country ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) [USA]

  Programme Background Requirement In 2018, the US Army initiated the FARA project to develop a replacement for Army attack and scout helicopters, such as the OH-58D Kiowa and AH-64 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-1Y [Romania]

  Programme Background The Romanian MoD has a long-standing requirement for new rotary platforms, including troop transport, supply and attack configurations. According to the the Romanian Military ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Huey II

  The last announced contract, valuing at $19 million, was awarded to Bell by US Army to supply Lebanon Air Force with there furnished Huey IIs ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Kruk / AH-64E Apache [Poland]

  Programme Background In May 2019, Wojciech Skurkiewicz, the Polish deputy defence, released some details on the helicopter programme. Part of Poland's broader defence modernisation plan, the tender ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) [USA]

  Programme Background US Army's Future Vertical Lift Programme The FLRAA is one of three strands of a broader army programme. The others are the Future ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  AW169M (Austria)

  The aircraft was selected ahead of two light twin platforms – the Bell 429 and H145M - as it represented the best option for Vienna ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  Project Land 2097 Phase 4 [Australia]

  Programme Background According to the RfI, under Project Land 2097 Phase 4, the selected helicopter must comprise a commercial or military off-the-shelf solution that is ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 505

  The Bell 505 is a light, single-engine helicopter initially designed for the utility, executive/passenger and law enforcement markets produced by Bell Textron. The Montenegrin Air ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Bell 412EPI

  Introduced in 2013, the Bell 412EPI is the latest production standard for Bell's venerable 412 family of utility helicopters. The 412EPI has a fully integrated ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Bell 412EPX

  The Bell 412EPX is a utility helicopter manufactured by Subaru. This platform improves upon the UH-1J/412-series helicopters. It has enhanced safety, performance, visibility, maintainability and ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Bell 412EP

  The Bell 412EP/CH-146 is a twin-engine, medium support helicopter derived from the Model 212/Twin Huey, produced by Bell in Canada. The 412EP was introduced in 1994. ...

• Helicopter engines

  T53

  The T53 is a turboshaft engine, designed for use on helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. More than 19,000 T53-series engines have been produced to date, powering ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  Bell 407/407M

  The 407, unveiled in 1995, is an outgrowth of the 206L-4 LongRanger design, outfitted with a four-bladed main rotor with a composite hub. There are ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  525 Relentless

  Bell Helicopter announced in February 2012 that it was developing the Model 525 Relentless. The Relentless features an ARC Horizon flight deck, including the Garmin ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Bell 212/UH-1N Twin Huey

  The UH-1N Twin Huey is a twin-engine, medium utility helicopter developed in 1968-69 from the single-engine Bell 205/UH-1H by Bell and Pratt & Whitney Canada. ...

• Helicopter engines

  CT7 Family

  GE Aviation's CT7 turboshaft and turboprop engines power 25 types of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, with more than 130 customers in more than 50 countries. ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 206L-4 LongRanger

  The Bell 206L-4 LongRanger is primarily a civil helicopter but is also used by the Argentine Army. 

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  OH-58 Kiowa

  The single-engine OH-58 Kiowa, derived from the Bell 206, entered US Army service in 1969 as a light observation helicopter. More than 2,200 were built for ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  V-247 Vigilant

  The V-247 Vigilant is a tiltrotor UAV from Bell. Officially introduced in 2016, it features an open modular architecture and can host several payloads. These include ...

• Interior equipment

  Dart Aerospace designs and manufactures skidtubes (using round I-beam technology), crosstubes, lightweight steps, bearpaws, emergency stretcher kits, shoulder harnesses, aircraft disabling devices, baskets, mirrors, spacedoors, ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing

  HSVTOL

  Bell, a subsidiary of Textron, revealed on 2 August 2021 the High-Speed VTOL (HSVTOL) UAS. According to Bell, the developmental UAS combines the hover capability of a ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Bell 360 Invictus

  The Bell 360 Invictus is the company's prototype for the US Army's Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) programme.  The helicopter features retractable weapon bays, two ...