Bell Bids Jet Ranger X for US Army Lakota Training Helicopter Replacement

Bell Flight is proposing its Bell 505 Jet Ranger X light helicopter to replace the US Army’s UH-72 Lakota under the service’s new “Flight School Next” program.

This step is to “refresh” the rotary-wing systems employed under the newly-established school in Fort Novosel, Alabama, which conducts six weeks of theoretical lessons and up to 18 months of live flight lessons.

The military’s decision to employ new helicopters is driven by “concerns” about the operational costs and availability of the Airbus-made Lakota as well as its complex design, which leads to a “loss of basic flying skills.”

Speaking at a vertical aviation exhibit this month, Bell Military Sales and Strategy VP Carl Coffman noted that selecting Bell’s single-engine 505 solution would “half the price of training” compared to the Lakota.

Coffman further explained that the 505 would help the army “to get back to basics by fostering proficient stick and rudder and tail rotor skills while familiarizing new aviators with advanced cockpits.”

Tenders in April, Bell Assembly in Canada

If contracted, Bell will offer a purpose-built instrument flight rules variant of the 505 Jet Ranger X for the Flight School Next transition project.

Coffman said that the systems’ construction will be facilitated at its assembly center in Mirabel, Canada, unlike the company’s previous offering in a separate US Navy training where it proposed the development in Ozark, Alabama.

“This is still a US aircraft,” Coffman stated. “It’s not just about where the aircraft’s final assembly takes place.”

Submission for the army’s request for proposals is scheduled for April, with California-based Robinson Helicopters and Texas-based Schweizer RSG joining as candidates for the effort.

Bell’s 505 Jet Ranger X

The 505 Jet Ranger X is a five-seat airframe made for tactical, training, medical airlift, commercial, and sporting flights.

It measures 43 feet (13 meters) long, has a wing diameter of 37 feet (11 meters), and is powered by a Safran Arrius 2R turboshaft engine with 505 horsepower.

The aircraft’s military version has a top speed of 135 knots (250 kilometers/155 miles per hour), a range of 306 nautical miles (352 miles/566 kilometers), a service ceiling of 18,610 feet (5,670 meters), and endurance of up to four hours.