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Bell Helicopter is pitching its AH-1Z Viper attack and UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters to meet ADF requirements outlined in the recent Defence White Paper. February’s Defence White Paper and its accompanying Integrated Investment Program (IIP) detailed the planned early retirement and replacement of Army’s Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) from the mid-2020s plus plans to acquire “deployable light helicopters” to support Special Forces operations. “The White Paper calls for Australia to have an outward-facing, strategically engaged capability of being forward deployed,” Bell’s regional director for military business development, John Woodbery, told Australian Aviation in Canberra in late July. “We are...

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced Monday that it has approved sale of AH-1Z Viper Attack Helicopters and AGM-114R Hellfire II Missiles to Pakistan for an estimated cost of $952 million. Pakistan has requested 15 AH-1Z Viper Attack Helicopters, 32 T-700 GE 401C Engines (30 installed and 2 spares), 1000 AGM-114 R Hellfire II Missiles in containers, 36 H-1 Technical Refresh Mission computers, 17 AN/AAQ-30 Target Sight Systems, 30 629F-23 Ultra High Frequency/Very High Frequency Communication Systems, 19 H-764 Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation Systems, 32 Helmet Mounted Display/Optimized Top Owl, 17 APX-117A Identification Friend or Foe, 17...

CUTAWAY: Ultimate Survivor - OH-58 enters fifth decade stronger than ever By Stephen Trimble Scout helicopters have a torturous legacy in the US Army acquisition system. Three attempts to buy a light observation helicopter - the Hughes OH-6 Cayuse in 1967, the Sikorsky/Boeing RAH-66 Comanche in 2004 and finally the Bell Helicopter ARH-70 Arapaho in 2008 - have failed, with billions of dollars wasted in the process. The Bell OH-58 Kiowa is the only aircraft to survive the gauntlet. In the 37-year interval between the cancellations of the Cayuse and Comanche, the army fielded four major versions of the basic...

After serving the nation for several years, an army squadron of 11 Iroquois helicopters will become tourist attractions at military bases around Australia. "Townsville and the other locations selected have had an association with the Iroquois helicopter for a very long time. It's only fitting then that these helicopters come to rest among these communities," Minister for Defence Materiel and Science Greg Combet said. "One Iroquois helicopter will be kept for permanent display outside Townsville's RAAF Base, where we expect it to attract military enthusiasts and other visitors." The helicopters will also be seen at Bandiana and Point Cook in...

Note: The following text is a quote: April 16, 2010 ICE agents seize $8 million helicopter planned for illegal shipment to Iran ARLINGTON, Texas - Special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Thursday seized a Bell helicopter with an estimated value of $8 million that was destined for shipment to Iran in violation of trade sanctions. Federal agents had first grounded the helicopter in its Arlington, Texas, hangar in December. The aircraft is owned by the Italian company Tiber Aviation. U.S. Federal District Judge John McBryde, Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division, signed the civil arrest...

Dorset man smuggling parts to Iran, says US By Patrick Sawer A British pensioner is at the centre of a worldwide police hunt after being accused by United States authorities of smuggling military parts to Iran. Brian Woodford, 77, who owns a 17th century manor house and 100-acre estate in Dorset, has been charged in his absence with selling millions of pounds worth of US military and civilian aircraft parts to the Islamic regime in Tehran. His wife Laura was arrested after arriving at San Francisco on a flight from Hong Kong with two catalogues from a Chinese company that...

US Navy helps finance Israeli "rotorless" helicopter The aircraft's developer, Urban Aeronautics, is on the brink of signing a collaboration agreement with US company Bell Helicopter. Amnon Barzilai 20 Jul 06 20:37 Lod-based Urban Aeronautics Ltd. is about to sign a cooperation agreement with Bell Helicopter for the delivery of helicopters to all branches of the US armed forces. At this stage, the company has obtained financing to develop its vertical-take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft, a "rotorless" helicopter, for the US Navy. This week, the company unveiled a model of its helicopter at the Farnborough Air Show in the UK...

FARNBOROUGH, England - Bell Helicopter will team with an Israeli company in an attempt to develop a futuristic, vertical-takeoff-and-landing flying vehicle that would allow soldiers and police far greater mobility in urban environments.Bell unveiled a mockup of what the company has dubbed the X-Hawk on Monday at the Farnborough International Air show, one of the world aerospace industry’s major events for demonstrating technology and marketing aircraft and related products and services.The X-Hawk, as envisioned by Bell, would be an aircraft that could hold a pilot and up to 11 troops. It would be capable of navigating congested urban areas by...

China's skies are getting busier. The country is no longer just a lucrative market for long time rivals Boeing and Airbus. Major helicopter manufacturers are also keen to jump into China's aviation sector. Bell Helicopter believes that the country's huge market potential and manufacturing opportunities hold great promise, even though actual returns may be a long time coming. Two new Bell 206 L-4 helicopters were recently delivered to Beijing Capital General Aviation Co (BCGA). BCGA plans to buy another three to four Bell helicopters by 2008, BCGA officials say. The Texas-based company has signed a collaborative manufacturing agreement with Hafei...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Textron's (NYSE:TXT - news) Bell Helicopter unit was chosen on Friday by the U.S. Army to build 368 new armed reconnaissance helicopters in a contract that the company valued at $2.2 billion. The new helicopters would replace the Army's OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters, that were also produced by Bell. Bell beat out a rival team led by Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA - news) for the work that will start with an initial development contract worth $210.7 million. Bell offered the Army a military version of its 407 helicopter, an upgraded version of the OH-58 family that has a...

ST. LOUIS, July 14, 2005 – The V-22 Osprey had a “coming out” of sorts yesterday, when VMX-22, the U.S. Marine Corps Tiltrotor Test and Evaluation Squadron in New River, N.C., hosted media from around the nation. The event was held to share highlights of the recently completed Operational Test and Evaluation and provide a look at where the program currently is and what milestones are yet to come. Those in attendance had the experience of a lifetime when they became some of the first non-government personnel to fly on board a V-22. “The VMX-22 squadron, led by Col. Glenn...