Bell Textron Wins $2.2B ARH Competition With 407 Variant

ARH-70A w. Hydras(click to view full) Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. of Fort Worth, TX received a $210.7 million cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for the system development and demonstration (SDD) of the U.S. Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) program, including sub-system integration and testing as well as training-device development (W58RGZ-05-C-0234). Work on the Bell LRH SDD contract will be performed at Fort Worth, TX and is estimated to be complete on Sept. 30, 2008. There were 11 bids solicited on Dec. 8, 2004, and two bids were received. The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal, AL issued the contract. The ARH-70 Armed Reconaissance Helicopter is a program by the United States Army to replace around 375 Bell Textron OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters (first fielded in 1985), and fill the role initially proposed for the RAH-66 Comanche (cancelled in 2004). Bell Helicopter Textron won the competition, and the contract calls for 368 ARH aircraft during FY 2006 through FY 2013, at a unit cost of approximately $6 million per vs. the much more advanced Comanche’s estimated $36 million unit cost… The ARH Program Winner: Bell’s 407 For additional information regarding the ARH program and the ARH-70 Helciopter, see DID’s updated FOCUS Article: […]