Bell Textron has delivered 40 Bell 505 helicopters to the Republic of Korea Army (ROKA) and Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN). This has fulfilled the delivery requirements outlined in a contract signed between Bell and the Republic of Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) in May 2022.
“Bell has successfully met an aggressive timeline for delivering the cutting-edge Bell 505 training platform to the ROKA and ROKN in the aftermath of supply chain disruptions caused by covid-19," Managing Director of Asia Pacific Bell, David Sale, said.
The ROK Armed Forces will join other government agencies worldwide that utilise the Bell 505 as a rotary wing trainer, including the Indonesian Navy, Jamaican Air Force, Japan Coast Guard, Armed Forces of Montenegro, Iraqi Army Aviation Command and the Royal Jordanian Air Force.
"With a fleet of 40 Bell 505 aircraft and eight simulators, complemented by a comprehensive aftermarket support program, Bell remains committed to collaborating with DAPA and the ROK Armed Forces to ensure operational readiness with their Bell 505 fleet," Sale stated.
The Bell 505 is equipped with a Safran Arrius 2R engine, dual-channel FADEC, and Garmin G1000H NXi avionics suite. To further pilots' situational awareness, the Bell 505 features an open cabin design, glass cockpit, wraparound windows, and Synthetic Vision technology.
Globally, according to the company, over 500 Bell 505 aircraft have been delivered, accumulating well over 100,000 flight hours since its introduction in 2017.
Bell is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, US, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Textron.
Earlier this year, in March, Bell had delivered six Bell 412EP helicopters upgraded with the company's BasiX-Pro Glass Cockpit Retrofit Kit to the Indonesian Army Aviation. The upgrade was completed by BDH, a Bell Authorised Maintenance Center in Indonesia. The Bell BasiX-Pro Glass Cockpit Retrofit Kit has replaced analog instruments with a fully integrated glass cockpit system, utilising current Bell production displays from Astronautics and Garmin avionics.