At a ceremony held at Farnborough Air Show today, BELL HELICOPTER, a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company and SUBARU Corporation announced their collaboration on a commercial enhancement of the BELL 412 EPI, which was type-certified this month as the 412 EPX, in support of the Japan UH-X program.

With improved performance and safety features, the SUBARU BELL 412 EPX will also provide more capability while maintaining its long-established reputation for utility and reliability for commercial customers.

“Our relationship with SUBARU extends over six decades. Together, we were the first to deliver military helicopters to Japan’s defense force. We look forward to continuing our successful collaboration on the UH-X and the 412 EPX Programs.” Mitch Snyder, Bell President and CEO

“Under cooperation with BELL, the SUBARU BELL 412EPX will provide a great opportunity to expand the commercial business. Further, the UH-X, which will replace the current UH-1J aircraft, will start delivery to JGSDF in 2022 and will be deployed for island defense and disaster relief efforts.” Shoichiro Tozuka, Corporate Executive Vice President and President of Aerospace Company, SUBARU

The SUBARU BELL 412EPX will benefit from a more robust main rotor gearbox dry run capability, increased internal Maximum Gross Weight to 12,200 lbs. and mast torque output of +11% at speeds below 60 knots. This will provide operators the ability to transport more supplies and achieve better operational efficiency.

The SUBARU BELL 412EPX commercial variant is planned to become available to customers globally through SUBARU and BELL in the future. A commercial prototype has undergone testing at Bell’s facility in Mirabel, Canada, and FAA certification was achieved on July 5, 2018.

Thinking above and beyond is what we do. For more than 80 years, we’ve been reimagining the experience of flight – and where it can take us.

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Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas – as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., – we have strategic locations around the globe. And with nearly one quarter of our workforce having served, helping our military achieve their missions is a passion of ours.

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