Bell to supply 407s to Iraqi military forces
The US Army has awarded Bell Helicopter a $60.3 million contract for 24 of its Model 407 helicopters, which the Army will provide to the Iraqi Air Force as part of a planned Foreign Military Sale to Iraq the manufacturer has said.
The Iraqi Ministry of Defence has selected the Bell Model 407 as the basis for a new Iraqi Air Force armed scout helicopter. Initial aircraft deliveries to the US Army are expected to begin later this year.
The 24 Model 407 helicopters will be built at Bell's commercial aircraft manufacturing facility in Mirabel, Canada, and subsequently will be militarised by the US Army to meet Iraqi Air Force requirements.
In February, the U.S. Army purchased three Model 407s from Bell that are currently being used as prototype aircraft for the development and testing of military-unique modifications. Once the Army has finished qualification with the initial prototype aircraft, military-unique modifications will then be applied to these 24 production aircraft before they are delivered to the Iraqi Air Force.
The Bell 407 before militarisation
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