• Defence Helicopter

  US DoD retains civilian airlift contractors in Afghanistan

  7th November 2013

  The US has extended three civilian contracts for helicopter air transportation in Afghanistan worth $272.9 million, it has emerged. On 1 November, the US Department …

• Defence Helicopter

  Bell Helicopter vs the Islamic Republic of Iran

  4th November 2013

  A US court of appeal has dismissed efforts by Bell Helicopter to revive a failed lawsuit against Iran, whom it attempted to sue for selling …

• Defence Helicopter

  US confirms Israel to get six V-22s

  1st November 2013

  Israel is set to become the first foreign operator of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, with Pentagon officials confirming the sale of six tiltrotors to the …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  First flight for MQ-8C Fire Scout

  1st November 2013

  The latest variant of the US Navy's Fire Scout UAV has flown for the first time in California, during which it stayed airborne for seven …

• Defence Helicopter

  AUSA 2013: Bell aiming for early introduction of V-280

  22nd October 2013

  Bell Helicopter believes the technological capacity exists to introduce the US military’s next-generation rotorcraft sooner than the currently planned 2035 timeframe. Speaking to reporters at …

• Defence Helicopter

  GE Aviation is newest member of Team Valor

  18th October 2013

  GE Aviation has been selected by Bell Helicopter as the propulsion system expert for the V-280 Valor. The company joins Lockheed Martin, Moog and GKN …

• Defence Helicopter

  GKN Aerospace announces Bell V-280 Valor cooperation

  17th October 2013

  GKN Aerospace announced today that it has been selected by Bell Helicopter to design, develop and manufacture the V-tail aerostructure and ruddervators for the Bell …

• Defence Helicopter

  Ex-Jordanian Cobras enter service in Pakistan

  11th October 2013

  The Pakistan Army Aviation (PAA) has recently inducted eight former Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) AH-1S Cobra attack helicopters into service. The gunships’ arrival has …

• Defence Helicopter

  New Zealand evaluates cost of NH90 lightning strike

  11th October 2013

  The cost of repairing a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) NH90 tactical transport helicopter (TTH) that was struck by lightning is likely to run …

• Defence Helicopter

  Moog joins Team Valor as flight control system expert

  10th October 2013

  Moog has been announced as the newest addition to Team Valor for the Bell V-280 Valor helicopter programme. The company has been selected to design, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Indonesian helicopter issues denied by Eurocopter

  9th October 2013

  Technical issues have grounded much of the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) Puma/Super Puma fleet in recent months, it has emerged. TNI-AU sources told Shephard that electrical …

• Defence Helicopter

  Downturn in light military rotorcraft sales predicted

  8th October 2013

  As the overall international demand for light military helicopters contracts, manufacturers continue to pursue emerging markets to sustain production levels, according to a new study. …

• Defence Helicopter

  Karem Aircraft to design tiltrotor for JMR TD

  3rd October 2013

  A fresh contender has joined the race to design the US military’s next-generation of rotorcraft. Karem Aircraft has been awarded a design contract for phase …

• Defence Helicopter

  Bell, Lockheed Martin team for V-280 Valor

  10th September 2013

  Bell Helicopter has announced Lockheed Martin as the first of its tier one team members for the V-280 programme. Additional team members for the programme …

• Defence Helicopter

  Bell Boeing initiates V-22 aerial refueling tests

  6th September 2013

  A V-22 Osprey helicopter has successfully completed a test flight in which it used a prototype aerial refueling system to demonstrate its potential to perform …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Bell 412EPI add-on [Indonesia]

  Programme Background The Indonesian Aerospace PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) was assembling Bell helicopters in its factory in Bandung. The first Bell 412EPI was delivered to the ...

• 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 - scout/light attack

  Bell 407GX [Iraq]

  Programme Background Between 2009 and 2015 Iraq was supplied with at 26 Bell 407s as part of the reconstruction of the Iraqi Air Force. The ...

• 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 - 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

  Bell 412 Replacement (1-9) [Norway]

  Programme Background Although Norway has a long-stated ambition of reducing its helicopter fleet to a single type in order to reduce costs and simplify support ...

• 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 ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• 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 - 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 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

  525 Relentless

  Bell Helicopter announced in February 2012 that it was developing the Model 525 Relentless. The aircraft is designed primarily for the oil and gas industry ...

• 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 aircraft, unveiled by Bell Helicopters Textron in 1995, is an outgrowth of the 206L-4 LongRanger design, outfitted with a four-bladed main rotor with a ...

• 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. ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Bell 206L-4 LongRanger

  The Bell 206L-4 LongRanger belongs to the LongRanger family, which is derived from the Bell 206B model. The aircraft is primarily a civil helicopter with ...

• 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 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 - scout/light attack

  407GT

  The Bell 407GT is the armed version of the Bell 407GX and is qualified for a range of weapons, from light to advanced laser-guided munitions. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Bell 360 Invictus

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