How Bell’s H-1 Aircraft Help the Marines Navigate Austere Environments
Heading up a military force during a mission requires a powerful team equipped to manage demanding environments. For the U.S. Marine Corps, this team is the Bell UH-1Y and AH-1Z aircraft, which share 85 percent commonality between the two platforms. Known collectively as the H-1 fleet, this duo is specifically designed and produced for expeditionary military operations. Together they provide the most capable attack and utility helicopters in service anywhere in the world today, across the full spectrum of military operations. They have high reliability in harsh environments that Marines often experience in these austere operations and are easily maintained with a small maintenance team, minimal support equipment and small parts pack-up.
The ease of these aircraft to reach inaccessible areas also plays into their ability to navigate challenging conditions. In a report on SLDinfo.com, author Robbin Laird remarks on how seamlessly the Bell AH-1Z Viper can touch down. “[The Viper] is very capable because of its relatively small footprint, able to land in a variety of ground or ship settings and get refueled,” says Laird. “If one focuses on the ability to operate virtually in any expeditionary setting, at sea or on land, the Viper is extremely capable of refueling for an insertion force. They can do this onboard virtually any fleet asset at sea or at a Forward Air Refueling Point or FARP.”
Bell Director of Global Military Sales and Strategy Joel Best reinforces that the H-1 platforms are optimized for austere operations. “The Marines operate in every single climatic environment, and the aircraft that Bell builds for them is built with this demand in mind,” says Best in an interview with Defence and Security Systems International. “Our aircraft operate in the extreme heat of the desert, and in the snow and ice of the mountains of Afghanistan. These aircraft are built to support the warfighter in any environment.”
These proven platforms have handled strike coordination and reconnaissance, tactical recovery of aircraft and personnel, aerial escort and more. As the Marines conduct close air support training exercises and missions in austere environments, the Marines continue to show how effortlessly both the Bell AH-1Z and UH-1Y works in tandem to overcome every challenge.
About Bell
Thinking above and beyond is what we do. For more than 85 years, we’ve been reimagining the experience of flight – and where it can take us.
We are pioneers. We were the first to break the sound barrier and to certify a commercial helicopter. We were a part of NASA’s first lunar mission and brought advanced tiltrotor systems to market. Today, we’re defining the future of advanced air mobility.
Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas – as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., – we have strategic locations around the globe. And with nearly one quarter of our workforce having served, helping our military achieve their missions is a passion of ours.
Above all, our breakthrough innovations deliver exceptional experiences to our customers. Efficiently. Reliably. And always, with safety at the forefront.
About Textron
Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell, Cessna, Beechcraft, Pipistrel, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Arctic Cat, and Textron Systems. For more information, visit: www.textron.com.
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements which may project revenues or describe strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; these statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, changes in aircraft delivery schedules or cancellations or deferrals of orders; our ability to keep pace with our competitors in the introduction of new products and upgrades with features and technologies desired by our customers; changes in government regulations or policies on the export and import of our products; volatility in the global economy or changes in worldwide political conditions that adversely impact demand for our products; volatility in interest rates or foreign exchange rates; and risks related to our international business, including establishing and maintaining facilities in locations around the world and relying on joint venture partners, subcontractors, suppliers, representatives, consultants and other business partners in connection with international business, including in emerging market countries.
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