Bell sells six 407GXi helicopters to Argentina for SAR missions


Bell Textron Canada is to six Bell 407GXi helicopters to the Argentinian government for search-and-rescue (SAR) missions. The government-to-government contract was agreed by the Ministry of Defense of Argentina and the Canadian Commercial Corporation.

The Bell 407GXi helicopters will deployed by both the Argentinean Air Force and Army to conduct SAR missions. The aircraft will be outfitted in a utility configuration required for rescue missions in the country’s mountainous terrain, according to John Ramos, MD, Latin America, Bell Textron. “The Bell 407GXi is a proven platform in high-altitude environments and will be pivotal to Argentina’s Military Search and Rescue operations,” he added.

Steeve Lavoie, president, Bell Textron Canada said the agreement was a testament to the long-standing partnership between Bell and Canadian Commerical Corporation (CCC) to deliver Canadian-built helicopters to customers around the globe.

The corporation values the deal at $43m. It says the six new helicopters will enable the Argentinian Ministry of Defence to replace its aging fleet of Airbus Allouette aircraft. Together with Bell Textron, it had delivered several aircraft in South America, including four Bell 407 helicopters to the Colombia National Police and two Bell 412 helicopters to the Colombia Naval Aviation Group, through Canada’s government-to-government contracts.

Kim Douglas, vice-president, Business Development and Marketing, Canadian Commercial Corporation said: “CCC is proud to partner with Bell Textron, a global leader in aerospace, to bring Canadian technology and expertise to Argentina.”

The Canadian aerospace industry represents about 21% ($1.37bn) of the value of government-to-government contracts signed in the past five years. Bilateral trade between Canada and Argentina was valued at $1.3bn in 2021, up 42% from 2020. Pictured is a Bell 407GXi demonstration unit.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Bell confirmed it had delivered seven Bell 407GXi helicopters to Australian clients operating in various segments during the past 12 months. Five Bell 407GXis were delivered to Nautilus Aviation for tourism and utility flights. The other two were sent to an Australian utility company and a corporate customer respectively. More than 20 Bell407 helicopters now operate in Australia.

  
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