Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, presented a formal proposal in response to the Army’s Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) request for proposal issued July 27, 2005. Bell is offering its successful 412EP medium twin-engine helicopter.
“The Bell 412EP is a reliable, proven aircraft that can fulfill the Army’s LUH missions,” said Mike Miller, Executive Director of Army and Air Force Business Development for Bell Helicopter. “There are currently more than 700 Bell 412s operating throughout the world in a wide variety of commercial and military missions. The Bell 412 fleet has logged more than three million flight hours and has already proven it can perform missions such as homeland security, civil search and rescue, medical evacuation, counter drug operations and more. In fact, 384 Bell 412s are conducting similar missions in the military or para-military services of 28 other countries today.”
The FAA-certified Bell 412EP meets all the requirements listed in the Army’s request for proposal. And in many cases, Bell’s LUH exceeds the requirements including endurance, airspeed, range, lift requirements, growth capacity, mission reliability, operational availability and more. Additionally, the versatility of the Bell LUH solution allows it to successfully accomplish a wide range of missions during the day or night as well as during adverse weather or periods of poor visibility. Bell is offering the LUH to be supported by Bell’s industry leading, worldwide customer service and support network including six supply centers and 157 service centers available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“In the Bell LUH, we are offering a reliable, proven helicopter as well as Bell’s product support, customer service and training.” Miller said. Bell’s LUH offering is powered by two Pratt and Whitney PT6T-3D engines. These reliable, efficient and mature engines have more than 36 million hours in aircraft around the world.
Other suppliers on Bell’s LUH include Honeywell, Chelton/Wulfberg Electronics, Goodrich, Intellegent Automation Corporation, East/West Industries, Inc., Simula, and FreeFlight. Bell Helicopter was recently awarded the contract to provide the Army with 368 Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters.
Bell Helicopter is a leading producer of commercial and military helicopters and the pioneer of the revolutionary tilt rotor aircraft. Globally recognized for customer service, innovation and superior quality, Bell’s global workforce of over 8,000 employees serves customers flying Bell aircraft in over 120 countries.
Textron Inc. is a $10 billion multi-industry company with 44,000 employees in 40 countries. The company leverages its global network of aircraft, 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 Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO and Greenlee, among others. More information is available at http://www.bellhelicopter.textron.com.
