Bell announces collaboration with Safran

Bell Helicopter, speaking at the Future of Transportation World Conference, has announced a new partnership with Safran. Through the collaboration, the companies plan to develop a new, innovative hybrid electric power system solution, which will be used to support Bell’s vertical take-off and landing aircraft.

Safran has, for several years, been working to explore hybrid propulsion systems, and Bell intends to leverage this experience in order to drive the project forward. Bell will lead design, development and production, while Safran provides technical expertise in support of the overall vision.

“Thanks to the long and sustained technology development strategy conducted within the Safran group, we can now offer Bell our hybrid electric power solutions for their next-generation products that result in improved performance giving more value to our customers,” said Stéphane Cueille, Safran’s Senior Executive Vice-President of R&T and Innovation.