Bell have announced that building the new 525 Relentless in Amarillo will add 100 jobs.  However, the military is looking at defence cuts, and it is feasible that this will mean workers transferring from military work to civilian.  A reduction in force can also not be ruled out – Bell are just waiting to see how they will fare in the military spending review.

Over 1,450 workers at Amarillo currently work on the V-22, UH-1Y and AH-1Z models, and the planned fly-by-wire flight system from the V-22 is central to the 525 cockpit.  The synergies are clear.

Bell is currently at the detailed design stage of the 525, with input from about 18 companies that expressed an interest in the aircraft.  No firm date yet exists for production, but the project is working towards a first flight in 2014 and in-service introduction late 2015, we understand.

William P Johnson – HeliHub.com US correspondent