Bell [TXT] announced Wednesday it will look to offer its Bell 505 as a potential option for the Army’s next training helicopter.
As the Army explores potentially replacing its Airbus Helicopters
’ UH-72A Lakota as its primary training helicopter as part of the “Flight School Next” effort, Bell said its team for pursuing the effort includes V2X, DigiFlight, Delaware Resource Group and Textron Aviation affiliate TRU Simulation.
“Bell and these four companies share a rich history in industrial cooperation and expertise in the various disciplines required to execute a modern, high-tech and rigorous training programs. This collaboration will be critical in delivering a comprehensive training solution to future Army aviators,” Bell said in a statement.
“The Bell 505 is a versatile, five-seat aircraft designed for reliability and efficiency, equipped with the latest technology to meet the demands of modern flight training. The aircraft features a fully integrated Garmin G1000H NXi avionics suite and a Safran Arrius 2R engine with dual-channel FADEC, making it an ideal platform for military training,” Bell added.
The four firms have signed Memorandum of Understandings (MOU) with Bell “to begin collaboration on the strategic development” for the Flight School Next effort.
“This group of companies represent a collective commitment to delivering a trusted, high-performing, technologically advanced and low-risk aviator training program to the Army customer that will ensure they are prepared for dynamic and challenging combat environments,” Jeff Schloesser, Bell’s executive vice president for strategic pursuits, said in a statement.
The Army this past October released a Request for Information for its plan to transform” Initial Entry Rotary-Wing (IERW) Flight Training at Fort Novosel, Alabama with an aim to “reduce costs, gain efficiencies and maintain or increase aviation training quality” (Defense Daily, Oct. 10 2024).
The RFI notes the Army’s effort to update its rotary wing flight training program may include “the potential replacement of the current IERW helicopter,” the UH-72A Lakota.
“We want to go to a simple, single engine basic helicopter so that our pilots, when they come out of flight school, they are expert pilots. We will teach them to be integrators and flight integrators on the back end of that. But we want them to be masters of their craft of being able to fly a helicopter in an old-fashioned way,” Gen. James Mingus, the Army vice chief of staff, told reporters following remarks at the Army Aviation Association of America’s annual conference here.
The UH-72A Lakota has served as the Army’s primary initial training helicopter since 2016, Airbus noted in a statement to Defense Daily, adding the company plans to be “heavily engaged” with the service in its efforts to shape its future training program.