Reporting from their facility in Mirabel, Canada, Bell Textron, announced they have successfully delivered three Bell 505 Jet Ranger X helicopters to the Royal Bahrain Air Force.
Members of the Bahrain Air Force inspected the aircraft in February, where an acceptance reception was held at Bell’s Mirabel facility near Montreal.
Sameer Rehman, managing director of Bell Helicopters stated: “We are honored to provide the Bahrain Defense Force another premiere Bell asset to train the next generation of Bahrani pilots.”
He furthered: “Generations of Bahraini pilots have flown in Bell helicopters, and the Bell 505 will continue the tradition of excellence for years to come.”
Bell Helicopters – Not new to Bahrain
The defense force of Bahrain operates the Bell 212 to support the integrity and the missions demanded by its armed force. Moreover, the tiny Gulf Kingdom also operates various generations of proven AH-1 attack helicopters, or as known as Bell AH-1 Cobra or the Huey Cobra, or Snake.
Notable countries such as Israel, Japan, and Turkey are using the Bell AH-1 Cobra. Bahrain is also proud to be a part of this membership.
The delivery of the Bell 505 broadens Textron’s footprint in Bahrain, which has allowed the company to outpace other manufacturer competition in the country.
The delivery of the Bell 505 will come with a world-class training package for crew and engineers, tooling, and spare parts.
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Rehman also further complimented the Bell 505 outstanding economics: “With low operating costs and high reliability, the Bell 505 has emerged as a customer favorite to prepare cadets for a safer and more effective transition to advanced helicopters.”
The Bell 505 and the wider region
The Bell 505 is growing its footprint in the Middle East. Bahrain joins other advanced countries in the Gulf region. This proves that the Bell 505 is one of the most capable training aircraft in the market, and it is adopted by many organizations, militaries, and companies in the region.
This includes Horizon International Flight Academy in the United Arab Emirates operating 12 Bell 505s. Another Air Force in the region, the Royal Jordanian Air Force, also inked an agreement for 10 Bell 505s in November 2022.
As of the time of writing, there are more than 30 Bell 505 aircraft operating throughout the Middle East and Africa.
Beyond the Middle Eastern region, countries like Montenegro Air Force, the Republic of Korea Army, and the Republic of Korea Navy have adopted the Bell 505 as the military training aircraft.
Bell Helicopters has successfully handed more than 400 Bell 505 aircraft to customers domestically and internationally on all spectrums of the customer base, ranging from private individuals to corporate and the military.
The Bell 505 aircraft has amassed more than 100,000 flying hours. It is currently also the world’s first single-engine helicopter to fly on 100% sustainable fuel, which propels Textron aviation into one of aviation’s leading companies in terms of sustainability.
