Bell Helicopter has announced that its ARH-70A helicopter has completed its first two test flights on July 20. The aircraft took off from Arlington, Texas and performed multiple handling maneuvers, flying in a hover for in and out of ground effect and followed a traffic pattern in which the aircraft reached 80 knots, at a 500-foot altitude, with banks up to 30 degrees during a flight lasting 1.5 hours.

The first flights also demonstrated the unique ARH teaming relationship between Bell and the U.S. Army with both a Bell and Army pilot at the controls. Bell test pilot Jim McCollough and Army pilot CW5 Alan Davis performed pilot and co-pilot roles, proving that the commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) platform approach can be successfully applied to military applications.

The ARH-70A is a airborne weapons system designed to fulfill aerial reconnaissance capabilities. The helicopter is equipped with a lethal weapons capability, net-centric connectivity and the equipment essential for day and night operations. Taken together, the ARH-70A enables the air-ground maneuver commander to "see-understand-act first."

"Today's first flight marks a major milestone for the ARH-70A as the program transitions into the flight test phase," stated Bell's ARH-70A program manager, Bill Leonard. "Our team's focus continues to be toward the completion of the build and functional test of the remaining three test aircraft, looking toward a successful limited users test (LUT), and finishing the production design." The program has scheduled LUT to begin in late 2006 or early 2007.

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