Bell Helicopter plans to invest and produce in Ukraine

The American helicopter manufacturer Bell Helicopter, which is part of Textron and produces such modern military helicopters as the AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom, plans to invest and work in Ukraine, said Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture Oleksiy Sobolev.

"As a government, we are ready to support the initiative with effective tools for investors. Ahead is the stage of technical consultations and assessments," he wrote on Facebook following a working meeting with company representatives.

According to the minister, this ambitious project could become a new stage in the development of the defense-industrial partnership between Ukraine and the United States.

In July 2024, Bell offered to sell Ukraine 407M light attack helicopters. The negotiations took place during the Farnborough International Airshow in the UK, Bell Executive Vice President for Strategic Goals Jeffrey Schloesser told Janes.

In addition, in September of the same year, MP Vadym Ivchenko, a member of the parliamentary committee on national security, defense and intelligence, reported in an interview with Defense News about Ukraine's desire to purchase 12 AH-1Z Vipers manufactured by Bell Helicopter.

A year before Russia's full-scale aggression, in February 2021, the then General Director of the state enterprise Ukroboronprom Yuriy Husev announced that the state enterprise Odesa Aviation Plant planned to launch licensed production of Bell UH-1 Iroquois class helicopters. It was noted that the organization of production was in the final stage. The project is financed by investment funds, and the first aircraft was supposed to be manufactured by the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence.