Dubai: Watching Dubai's airport from Bell Helicopter's chalet on the first day of the Dubai Airshow 2011 was a sight for sore eyes.
Gleaming under the sun were a number of helicopters, among which stood the new V-22 Osprey — a cross between a helicopter and an airplane.
The V-22 Osprey is changing the way wars are being fought, due to its ability to deliver critical supplies and humanitarian aid in areas normally inaccessible to either conventional helicopters or airplanes. Already at 100,000 flight hours, it has proven to be one of the safest and most cost-effective military platforms.
Bell Helicopter president and chief executive officer John L. Garrison Jr told Gulf News that the V-22 was making its debut here, and that the airshow is giving Bell Helicopter a chance to showcase the aircraft in the Middle East.
‘First of its kind'
"We believe it has a great applicability here in the region because of its range, speed and payload, and there is no other helicopter like it with its ability to lift like a helicopter and fly like an airplane. It is the first of its kind in the world," Garrison added.
Asked about other Bell offerings at the Dubai Airshow, Garrison pointed to the Bell 407AH. "It is an armed helicopter for law enforcement, paramilitary and other ‘special' missions. It is based on the commercial Bell 407, one of the world's most successful commercial helicopters," Garrison said.
"The 407AH is Bell's first commercially qualified armed/weaponised helicopter. It's configurable for multiple weapons and surveillance packages like mini-guns, rocket pods, FLIR [forward-looking infra-red] and NVG [night vision goggles] capabilities," he added.
"Safety features include a rupture-resistant fuel system, engine exceedance monitoring and a collective mounted throttle."
Garrison also pointed out another Bell product at the airshow, the Bell 429.
"The Bell 429 is the world's most advanced light-twin helicopter," he said.
"With customer feedback serving as the foundation for initial design studies, the 429 has raised industry standards in terms of safety, maintainability, performance and design," he added.
Regional suitability
"The 429's highly flexible cabin space can be customised to individual customer requirements, making it perfect for any mission application."
He said the Bell 429 was suited for Middle East operations as it can operate in high temperatures.
Around the world, Bell Helicopter is home to more than 10,000 employees working in more than two million square feet of manufacturing space.
Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, the company has additional plants in Amarillo, Texas, and Mir-abel, Canada.
Training facility
In 2010, Bell Helicopter grossed $3.2 billion (Dh11.7 billion) in revenue, shared across its three business segments of commercial programmes, military programmes and customer support. Bell supports both military and commercial customers with an installed base of 13,000 aircraft — broken down into 10,500 commercial and 2,500 military aircraft.
