• Defence Notes

  Australia goes on spending spree

  26th February 2016

  Australia plans to spend some US$140.5 billion over the next decade ‘to fund investment in support of the future force,’ and bring the defence budget …

• Defence Helicopter

  Singapore Airshow: Airbus prioritises Aussie Tiger problems

  20th February 2016

  Airbus Helicopters is making the Australian Army’s troubled Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) programme a top priority, the company insisted at the Singapore Airshow. Philippe …

• Defence Helicopter

  Singapore Airshow: Boeing lays out regional opportunities

  18th February 2016

  Boeing Defense, Space & Security is bullish about prospects for military rotorcraft sales in the Asia-Pacific region, with Indonesia emerging as a potential buyer for …

• Defence Helicopter

  Singapore Airshow: Bell positioning AH-1Z for Australia

  17th February 2016

  BAE Systems Australia and Bell Helicopter signed an agreement at the Singapore Airshow on 16 February to chase military helicopter opportunities in Australia. Under the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Singapore Airshow: Asia revs up helo engine buys

  11th February 2016

  The demand for new helicopter engines in Asia is on the rise, despite the global rotorcraft market currently being in the grips of a downturn. …

• Defence Helicopter

  Singapore Airshow: Bell building momentum with trifecta

  10th February 2016

  Despite an industry downturn, much of it driven by the oil and gas segment, Bell Helicopter ‘had a good year’ in 2015. Although the OEM …

• Defence Helicopter

  TH-67s heading to new home in South America

  20th January 2016

  Thirty of the US Army’s divested TH-67 Creek helicopters are heading to South America to provide initial helicopter training for allied militaries across the region.  …

• Training

  I/ITSEC 2015: Inside the V-280 simulator (video)

  4th December 2015

  During this year's I/ITSEC show in Orlando, Shephard was given special access to Tru Simulation + Training's V-280 Valor technology demonstrator, which is being developed …

• Defence Helicopter

  Iroquois lined up for autonomous capability

  25th November 2015

  The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has selected the UH-1H Iroquois as the platform for Phase 3 of the Autonomous Aerial Cargo/Utility system (AACUS) programme. …

• Defence Helicopter

  Argentina requests US helicopters

  20th November 2015

  The US State Department has approved a potential foreign military sale (FMS) to Argentina for Bell 412EP helicopters and associated equipment, the Defense Security Cooperation …

• Defence Helicopter

  Dubai 2015: Bell sells more 525s in Middle East

  9th November 2015

  Bell Helicopter will sign a letter of intent (LOI) for two 525 Relentless super-medium helicopters with Egyptian firm Petroleum Air Services (PAS) on 9 November, …

• Defence Helicopter

  D&S 2015: Transworld upgrading Thai helicopters

  5th November 2015

  Transworld Aviation (Thailand) is currently upgrading helicopters for the Thai military, with a new agreement to do the same for Royal Thai Police helicopters also …

• Special Operations

  Special ops step for Bell 429

  28th October 2015

  Bell Helicopter's Aeronautical Accessories has added a special ops platform/step for the Bell 429 light, twin-engine helicopter to its product line, the company announced on …

• Defence Helicopter

  Bell expands Mexican footprint

  26th October 2015

  Bell Helicopter has opened a new sales office in Mexico City, the company announced on 23 October.  The new office will support local and regional …

• Defence Helicopter

  Thai army buys more AW139s

  14th October 2015

  The Royal Thai Army (RTA) is expanding the size of its AgustaWestland fleet after signing up for eight twin-engine AW139 helicopters. The latest deal, announced …

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 ...