South Korea selects Bell 505 for helicopter training
The South Korea Ministry of Defence (MoD) has selected the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X basic training helicopter for the Daehanminguk Yuk-gun (RoK Army, Republic of Korea Army) and the Daehan Minguk Haegun (RoKN, Republic of Korea Navy) helicopter pilots.
The contract for forty Bell 505 Jet Ranger X is valued at USD 133 million. The first helicopters are expected to be delivered between 2023 and 2025. According to the Defense Acquisition Programme Administration (DAPA), the arms procurement agency controlled by the MoD, additional flight training simulators have been ordered. These will be delivered by an unnamed domestic company in South Korea.
Currently, the army pilots and Navy pilots are trained on the McDonnell Douglas MD500MD Defender respectively the Bell UH-1H Iroquois. The new single-engine five-seat turbine helicopter will be installed with the latest digital instrument panel and tactical navigation equipment. The Army MD500MDs are operated by the ROK Army Aviation School at Nonsan air base, whilst the Navy UH-1Hs are operated by the 1st Flight Training Squadron (609 Education & Training Unit) at Mokpo air base.
Photo (just illustrative) by Bell Textron