HELI-EXPO, Louisville, Kentucky (February 29, 2016) – Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announces global deliveries as part of its 2015 performance results.
In 2015, Bell Helicopter delivered 175 aircraft, a combination of its current production products as follows:
- 28 commercial helicopters to countries in the Pacific Rim
- 69 civil aircraft in North America
- 31 deliveries in Latin America, and
- 47 helicopters across Europe, the Middle East and Africa
The company also launched the Bell 407GXP and announced the largest helicopter order in Bell Helicopter history for 200 407GXPs to Air Methods Corporation. The first of those aircraft were delivered in January 2016.
Advancements to the Bell 412 helped secure a major win in Japan and will serve as the foundation for Japan’s Ministry of Defense UH-X development program. UH-X is a co-development program between Bell Helicopter and Fuji Heavy Industries for approximately 150 helicopters, to be delivered over the next two decades.
“2015 was a challenging year for the helicopter industry with ongoing impacts of the decline in oil and gas, continued geopolitical unrest and global economic uncertainty,” said Mitch Snyder, Bell Helicopter’s president and CEO. “Despite tough market conditions, Bell Helicopter expanded market presence and secured a number of key wins.”
Bell Helicopter’s development programs made significant progress and received impressive customer response. The Bell 525 achieved first flight in July 2015 and has accumulated nearly 80 letters of intent. The Bell 505 continued its flight test program and now has letters of intent for more than 350 aircraft. The Bell V-280 Valor program hit a major milestone last year with the delivery of the first fuselage to the Bell Helicopter facility in Amarillo, Texas. The V-280 is currently undergoing systems integration and major assemblies. First flight of the V-280 is anticipated in the second half of 2017.
On the military front, the Bell Boeing V-22 was selected for the Navy Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD) program, which accounts for a planned 40 V-22s for the U.S. Navy. The company also contracted for foreign military sales for Japan for five of a potential 17 V-22s and three of potential 12 AH-1Z aircraft for Pakistan.
Bell Helicopter also added support, service and training capabilities at its Prague and Singapore locations as well as opening regional offices in Japan and Mexico, the new Bell Helicopter Training Academy in Fort Worth, Texas, and the Lafayette Assembly Center in Louisiana.
“Our customers are looking for differentiation that expands the scope of their operations,” said Snyder. “Bell Helicopter’s success last year is a testament to the value our products add to our customers’ missions. We look forward to continue working with our customers to advance existing technologies and further the future of rotorcraft.”