Air Warfare

First USMC Bell AH-1Z goes in for power upgrade

29th March 2024

The Bell Textron AH-1Z Viper, an attack helicopter designed to operate and destroy targets in extreme environments, achieved IOC in February 2011.

Air Warfare

Bell Textron opens new laboratory to support bid for US Army’s FLRAA

14th March 2024

In December 2022, the US Army awarded an initial $1.3 billion contract to Bell Textron for US Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA), choosing to proceed with its V-280 Valor bid, and the new site will support this programme.

Air Warfare

V-22 Osprey cleared for flight but cause of fatal crash not disclosed

12th March 2024

V-22s have been cleared for flight three months after a fatal crash which led to a grounding but processes involved in the clearance mean it will be weeks or even months before full operations return.

Air Warfare

Bell and Leonardo to cooperate on tiltrotor technology

29th February 2024

The partnership between Leonardo and Bell has signalled a step towards advancing next-generation rotorcraft capabilities as the two company's embark on NATO’s Next Generation Rotorcraft Capability (NGRC) Concept Study.

Air Warfare

Canada commits $1.7 billion to CH-146 helicopter support

18th January 2024

The Royal Canadian Air Force has been operating 82 CH-146 Griffon helicopters out of 11 locations across Canada. In May 2022, C$800 million was awarded for the service life extension of the fleet which will keep the aircraft in service until at least the mid-2030s.

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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - scout/light attack

Project Land 2097 Phase 4 - Australia

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 already in ...

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 - 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 - attack

AH-X

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 - maritime

Kondor Naval Helicopters (Poland)

Programme Background In 2018, the Polish MoD announced its requirement to purchase up to eight naval helicopters to replace in-service SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopters. Polish ...

Military helicopters - multirole

UH-1Y Romania

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 Strategy document published ...

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 ...

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 - 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. ...

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. 

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 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 ...

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 ...

Air: Integrated cockpit systems

Bell BasiX Pro

The Bell BasiX Pro system, developed by American defence manufacturer Textron Aviation, is specifically designed to meet the requirements of twin-engine helicopters. The system features ...