Bell Helicopter

The US Air Force has awarded Boeing a US$285-million contract to build the first 13 MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters to replace the venerable Bell UH-1N Huey multi-role helicopter fleet that guards America's land-based nuclear ballistic missiles.

After years of testing and deliberation, the US Army has made the US$1.3-billion decision to select the Bell V-280 Valor tilt-rotor craft to replace the Army's 2,000 UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopters and 1,200 AH-64 Apache assault helicopters.

Bell has demonstrated how its electric-powered, Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) quadcopter drone can carry out supply drops for soldiers in rough country or on the battlefield, without the need for parachutes.

Bell has revealed its latest design concepts for the next generation of military rotorcraft, using its High-Speed Vertical Take-Off and Landing (HSVTOL) technology to explore next-gen military vertical lift aircraft capabilities.

After 34 years of service, during which it clocked up 933,614 flight hours, the United States Marine Corps is retiring its fleet of 179 Bell AH-1W “Super Cobra” attack helicopters, though some have been converted to their successor, the AH-1Z Viper.

The US Army has reduced its Future Attack and Reconnaissance (FARA) competition to two contenders. Bell's 360 Invictus and Sikorsky's Raider X have been okayed to proceed to the prototype phase of a new "knife fighter" small assault helicopter.

Ordinarily on a helicopter, the main rotor is mechanically linked to the tail rotor, so the spinning of the former causes the latter to do likewise. A new system replaces the tail rotor with four fans, potentially making for safer and quieter flight.

The latest variant of the Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft recently completed its maiden flight. Designed to replace the US Navy's C-2A Greyhound cargo aircraft, the CMV-22B Osprey will be used to transport high-priority cargoes for carrier fleets.

After offering a look at its vision for flying taxis at last year's CES, Bell has returned to Las Vegas with what it considers a new and improved version, featuring an all-electric mode for zero-emission travel over urban centers.

The V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft fleet, which been in service with US forces since 2007, has racked up over 500,000 flight hours.

Bell has unveiled the Bell 360 Invictus rotorcraft, as the company's entrant in the Army's Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) Competitive Prototype program.

Bell has joined the cargo drone space with its APT 70, which has just nailed its first autonomous test flight.