Bell Helicopter has sold its stake in the BA609 civil tiltrotor program to partner AgustaWestland, leading to its renaming as the AW609 and the transfer of all manufacturing and flight testing to Italy.
Bell's decision allows the company to reallocate R&D resources towards military tiltrotor programs, including the V-22 and next-generation technologies for the U.S. Department of Defense.
AgustaWestland plans to accelerate the AW609's flight test regimen to bring the 6-9 passenger civil tiltrotor, which will offer 275-knot airplane mode speeds and VTOL capabilities, to market, viewing large tiltrotor designs as key to 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.
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