Bell Helicopter has sold its stake in the BA609 civil tiltrotor program to partner AgustaWestland, which will rename it the AW609 and assume sole responsibility for its development, testing, and manufacture.
Bell's divestment allows the company to reallocate R&D resources towards military tiltrotor programs, including the V-22 and next-generation U.S. Department of Defense technologies.
AgustaWestland plans to accelerate the AW609's flight test regimen to bring the 6-9 passenger, 275-knot VTOL aircraft to market, seeing large tiltrotor designs as significant for its future.
After years of back-and-forth negotiations, Bell Helicopter has at last agreed to sell its stake in the BA609 civil tiltrotor program to partner AgustaWestland. As a result, the tiltrotor is being renamed the AW609.
Bell will continue to supply components and engineering support for the tiltrotor, but flight testing and manufacture will move solely to Italy.
CREATE A FREE ACCOUNT
Sign up to keep reading
Create a free account to continue. Already a member? Sign in below.
