South Korea awards training helicopter contract to Bell
South Korea has awarded a framework contract to Bell Textron for the supply of up to 40 Bell 505 single-engine training helicopters to its military by 2025
The aircraft, sourced by the Republic of Korea’s Defence Acquisition Program Administration, will be used by the Republic of Korea Army and Republic of Korea Navy to train new pilots.
The Bell 505 Jet Ranger X is powered by a Safran Arrius 2R FADEC-controlled turboshaft engine, with a useful load of 680kg. It has a maximum cruise speed of 232 km/h and a 617km range. The 505 also has capacity for one pilot and up to four passengers and is equipped with Garmin avionics.
The aircraft type is employed as a training aircraft, by several military forces around the world, including the Indonesian Navy, Jamaican Air Force, Japanese Coast Guard, the UAE military and the Montenegro Defence Force.
It is also regularly employed for police operations, with Nebraska’s Omaha Police Department’s (OPD) Air Support Department becoming the ninth police force in North America to use the Bell 505, following a delivery in February.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at the Voyageur Group. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.