New Bell 505s for Royal Bahraini Air Force.

Bell Textron announced on 15 March 2023 that the first three Bell 505 helicopters have been delivered to the Royal Bahraini Air Force. The inspection and acceptance event was already held in February, but was now officially made public

The trio carries serials 1001, 1002 and 1003. Bell 505 1001 was testflown as C-GZNU (c/n 65460), and Scramble assumes that 1002 and 1003 are the former C-GZNY (c/n 65461) and C-GZOA c/n 65462).

The five-seat Bell 505 was originally designed for the utility, executive/passenger and law enforcement markets but is bought more and more as a military trainer.

Choosing the ‘505’ seems to be a logical step as Bahrain already operates other Bell helicopter models like the Bell 212 and AH-1. and has now received the first three 505 aircraft. The delivery marks the first 505 rotorcraft for the Gulf country and also includes training, tools and spare parts.

(Photo: Bell)