Recently, with the goal of beginning the replacement of its current UH-72 Lakota helicopters, the U.S. Army has issued a new industry request for proposals to renew its rotary-wing training platforms. In light of this opportunity, Bell Textron has confirmed that it will submit a proposal based on a dedicated instrument flight rules (IFR) version of the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X.
Currently, pilots from the U.S. Army Aviation Regiments flying AH-64 Apache, UH-60 Black Hawk, and CH-47 Chinook helicopters are trained in UH-72 Lakotas. These aircraft, based on the H135 (EC-145), were introduced years ago to replace the aging Bell UH-1H and OH-58A/C Kiowa helicopters in the U.S. Army fleet. The service currently operates two versions (A and B), maintaining a fleet of approximately 482 units.
However, according to U.S. media reports, various operational issues with the Lakota have led the U.S. Army to consider its replacement in the coming years. Specifically, it has been noted that “U.S. Army officials had observed a series of trends in recent accidents related to the loss of tail rotor effectiveness or authority, in which pilots did not fully apply the left pedal to counteract torque when the issue arose. They believed this was because pilots had been trained with the assumption that the Lakota would automatically correct the situation,” according to a recent Aviation Week report.
Additionally, there is a recognized need for a more cost-effective platform in terms of flight-hour expenses and one that offers greater availability than the current UH-72 Lakota fleet.
Given these circumstances and in response to the U.S. Army’s needs, Bell Textron will submit its proposal to equip the service with the Bell 505 Jet Ranger.
Recently, several military services have selected and incorporated the Bell 505 for training and instructing their future pilots. Among these are the air forces of Bahrain, Jordan, and Montenegro, as well as the Republic of Korea Navy.
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