Bell Textron, a Textron company, has announced the selection of the Bell 505 as the new South Korean military helicopter trainer. The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA) and the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) will use the new Bell 505 helicopters to train their next generation of helicopter pilots.
The contract, signed by South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program with Bell, calls for the construction and delivery of up to 40 Bell 505 helicopters by 2025.
“The Republic of Korea selected the Bell 505 after rigorous scrutiny, confirming that it is the world’s preferred next-generation military helicopter training aircraft for training pilots,” said Patrick Moulay, senior vice president of international commercial sales at Bell. As the armed forces of the Republic of Korea face growing operational demands and challenges, Bell is honored to play a role in training future ROKA and ROKN pilots.”
In February, Bell 505’s global fleet hours reached 100,000 hours, and since 2017, more than 360 Bell 505s have been delivered worldwide. South Korea’s armed forces will join government agencies around the world, including the Indonesian Navy, Jamaican Air Force, Japan Coast Guard, United Arab Emirates Army and the Montenegrin Defense Forces using the Bell 505 as a helicopter trainer.
With light single helicopters making up the majority of training helicopters worldwide, the Bell 505 is ideally suited to prepare future military pilots for the myriad challenges they will face in their missions.
The Bell 505 is Bell’s newest five-seater aircraft designed for safety, efficiency and reliability. Equipped with the latest Garmin avionics and dual-channel FADEC controlled engines, the Bell 505 is the most advanced short light single-engine aircraft on the market.
