On May 31, in a press release, Bell Textron Canada formally announced the purchasing agreement they signed in December 2022 for six Bell 407GXi helicopters with the Ministry of Defence of Argentina.
Argentina buys six Bell 407 GXI helicopters to replace its SA315B Lama
The company’s statement noted that the intergovernmental agreement was signed between the Ministry of Defence and the Canadian Commercial Corporation, the contracting agency of the Canadian government.
«The Bell 407GXi is a tried and tested platform in high-altitude environments and will be essential for Argentina’s military search and rescue operations,» stated John Ramos, Managing Director for Latin America. «The six Bell 407GXi will be fitted in a critical utility configuration for rescue missions in Argentina’s mountainous terrain,» he added.
Out of these helicopters, three will be delivered to the Argentine Army and the remaining three, with specific configurations, will be handed over to the Argentine Air Force.
At the end of January 2023, the Joint Chief of Staff of the Argentine Armed Forces (EMCOFFA) published the Administrative Decision DECAD-2023-68-APN-JGM, approving the expenditure of USD 32,416,188 for the purchase of the six helicopters.
Bell Textron Canada is responsible for the current commercial production line of Bell, including the Bell 505, the Bell 407GXi, the Bell 429, and the SUBARU Bell 412EPX. To date, the company has built over 5,600 commercial helicopters and has delivered more than 1,000 aircraft to Canadian customers.
«This announcement testifies to the enduring partnership between Bell and the CCC to deliver Canada-built helicopters to customers worldwide. The Argentine Ministry of Defence will benefit from the unmatched reliability and performance of their new Bell 407GXi fleet, and our team is thrilled to support their search and rescue mission,» said Steeve Lavoie of Bell Textron Canada.
The Garmin G1000H NXi flight suite of the 407GXi improves situational awareness and decreases pilot workload by offering easy-to-read information. The new IFR capability of the Bell 407GXi allows for operations in any weather conditions while still providing a safe, reliable, and effective multi-mission capability.
In the competition won by Bell Textron Canada, proposals from Airbus Helicopters with the H145 and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) with their LUH Mk-1 were also evaluated.
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