Forth Worth, Texas Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. company (NYSE: TXT), announced today it has signed a contract with the Turkish National Police for the purchase of 15 Bell 429s with deliveries to begin in May 2013.
The Bell 429 was selected after an evaluation period during which members of the Turkish National Police Undersecretariat for Defence Industries SSM and Turkish Aeronautical Industries (TAI) visited several helicopter manufacturers in North America and Europe. The new Bell 429s will be used as multi-mission airborne platforms flown across the full array of law enforcement missions from surveillance to air support of ground operations.
The contract was signed at the Turkish SSM Headquarters in Ankara, Turkey. In attendance were the Undersecretary of Defense Industries for Turkey Murad Bayar, the Canadian Ambassador to Turkey, John Holmes and members of the U.S. Embassy's Commercial Business Support office as well as dignitaries from the Turkish National Police and the TAI.
"It is a measure of great satisfaction to see the right helicopter matched with the requirements of a great customer with the benefits to Turkey and the service that these helicopters will provide the men and women of Turkish law enforcement and the Turkish people," said Larry Roberts, senior vice president, Commercial Business for Bell Helicopter.
"We are very pleased to equip our police force with a next generation, high-mission capability helicopter. Bell Helicopter had a strong competitive performance during the tender stage and we believe this will continue during the execution of the contract," said Murad Bayar, the Undersecretary of Defense Industries for Turkey.
"The Turkish National Police represents an anchor program for us in Europe and will allow Bell Helicopter the opportunity to bring its world class customer support and service to such a critical mission in Turkey,” said Roberts.
Source: Bell Helicopter
