Bell Textron
Bell Textron Inc. said Monday it has restarted production of the UH-1Y Venom helicopter for the first international operator - the government of the Czech Republic.
Crestview Aerospace has completed the first of eight cabins for the helicopters at its Crestview, Fla., facility. Bell will complete final assembly at its Bell Amarillo Assembly Center, Bell said. The helicopters are part of the 2020 Defense Department contract awarded to Bell for the production and delivery of eight UH-1Y and four AH-1Z helicopters for the Czech Republic.
“Crestview Aerospace is honored and grateful for the opportunity to team with Bell on the continued production of the UH-1Y cabin for the first international customer,” Paul Kohlmeier, senior vice president, strategy and business development at Crestview Aerospace, said.
“Crestview continues to build in the same high quality and reliability into the international Venom helicopters that underpin the aircraft currently operated by the United States Marine Corps around the world.”
Bell delivered the final UH-1Y for the U.S. Marine Corps program in April 2018 and has continued to produce and deliver the AH-1Z as part of the H-1 production contract for 349 H-1 aircraft, consisting of 160 UH-1Y and 189 AH-1Z.
The UH-1Y shares 85 percent commonality of parts with the AH-1Z. "The commonality between the aircraft enabled critical component supply chains to remain active during AH-1Z production for the USMC," Bell said.
“Time, logistics, and man-hours are all strategic resources,” Mike Deslatte, vice president and H-1 program director at Bell, said.
'“Commonality helps ensure everything between the Viper and Venom, from manufacturing, maintenance, and upgrades, remains seamless while simultaneously providing lower program and life cycle costs. It’s a real tactical advantage on multiple levels.”
The UH-1Y and AH-1Z share the same engines, integrated mission system and dynamic components, such as the four-bladed rotor system. Both aircraft are designed and produced for expeditionary operations.
Bell has two signed Foreign Military Sales cases that are in production - Bahrain and the Czech Republic.
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