Textron company Bell Helicopter has signed a purchase agreement with the Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) for the delivery of Bell 412EPI helicopters.
Under the terms of the deal, the company will provide 16 units of the fully configured Bell 412EPI aircraft that would be operated by the Philippine Air Force (Paf).
The acquisition is being carried out by the DND as part of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) aircraft upgrade plans through a government-to-government contract with the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC).
Bell Helicopter Asia Pacific managing director Sameer A Rehman said: “We are honoured that the Bell 412 will continue to serve the Philippines through the PAF for many more years to come.”
Rehman added: “Bell’s helicopters have been a key component for the PAF in the past and we look forward to bringing these aircraft into service quickly to serve the citizens of the Philippines.”
The aircraft is equipped with the Bell BasiX Pro fully integrated glass flight deck that has been designed to meet the requirements of twin-engine helicopters and is optimised for instrument flight rules (IFR), Category A, and JAR OPS3 compliant operations.
The helicopter also features the BLR Strake and FastFin system that overhauls the tailboom to optimise airflow and provide better handling, safety, and lift.
Once deployed, the Bell 412EPI will be used by the PAF to carry out a vast range of missions such as disaster relief, search-and-rescue operations, passenger transport, and utility transport.
