Bell contracted to supply helicopters to Uganda, Kenya

By Allen Cone* [caption id="attachment_33309" align="alignleft" width="300"] The U.S. Army has awarded Bell Helicopter contracts worth $86.9 million to supply Huey II aircraft to Kenya and Uganda. Photo courtesy Bell Helicopter[/caption] FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. Army has awarded Bell Helicopter foreign military sales contracts worth $86.9 million to supply Huey II helicopters to Kenya and Uganda. The company will receive $52.1 million for five Huey II helicopters and spare parts for Kenya and another $34.5 million for five Huey II helicopters for Uganda, according to an Defense Department release Monday. Work for both projects will be performed in Ozark, Ala., with an estimated completion date of Dec. 29, 2017. The company on its website said the Huey II, which seats up to 15, provides "troop transport into high altitudes, medical evacuation in hot conditions or transport to and from remote bases." According to information from Bell Helicopter, the Bell Huey II's weight load lift of 4,873 pounds in hot conditions was improved by combining Bell 212 dynamic components with the Honeywell T53-L-703 engine. It has an endurance of 2.6 hours and 246 miles, and a maximum cruise speed of 106 knots per hour with the maximum load. Bell is a subsidiary of Textron, an aerospace, defense, security and advanced technologies industrial conglomerate that includes Cessna Aircraft and Beechcraft *UPI