Military Refurbishment Boosts Bell’s APAC Business

As Bell celebrates a presence in Asia spanning more than 65 years, military markets are accounting for an increasing share of the company’s growth opportunities in the region. While training requirements can also drive aircraft upgrades, sales of new-build aircraft across the Asia-Pacific region remain strong—momentum Bell aims to sustain with the upcoming 525 and MV-75.

Bell’s operational fleet in the APAC region now totals about 1,500 aircraft. “Near-term, we see a significant [growth opportunity] within military training,” said David Sale, Asia-Pacific managing director for Bell Flight. With several armed forces “in the cycle of either refreshing their training fleets or getting into the cycle of doing their training,” this increased demand—combined with “real budgets to spend”—is good news for products such as the single-engine Bell 505.

The company is chasing a significant opportunity to re-equip the entire U.S. Army flight training with the 505, which combines a fully digital glass cockpit with full-authority digital engine controls (FADEC) and a larger autorotation envelope. In June 2024, the last of 40 Bell 505s were delivered to the Republic of Korea Army and Navy under what the manufacturer described as an “aggressive” two-year timeline.

Meanwhile, glass-cockpit retrofits for the legacy Bell 412 remain among the most active refurbishment programs in the Asian market, reflecting the type’s widespread regional use. Sale described the twin-engine platform as “the bridge to the upcoming MV-75” Future Long Range Assault Aircraft, which he said is “really built for the region,” citing its “long legs” and a ferry range of up to 4,500 kilometers (2,400 nm).

Civilian and Commercial Uptake

Sale expects the as-yet-uncertified super-medium-lift Bell 525 to see initial uptake in “two major markets” within the APAC region, benefitting from the aircraft’s projected range of 619 nm: offshore energy missions and head-of-state/VVIP transportation, followed by search-and-rescue operations. Although he declined to discuss firm orders ahead of certification, Sale said that “[Bell does] have some customers that are absolutely asking for [the 525] already.”

While Sale believes general aviation in the region is “still in its infancy”—with the current commercial market in Thailand “almost non-existent”—China and India both represent significant long-term growth opportunities. Bell has Aircraft maintenance centers and customer service centers spread throughout “pretty much every single country” in the region.

All market segments are underpinned by Bell’s MRO and component repair and overhaul facility in Singapore, which opened in 2012. “The big push is…how do we make sure that Asia, and specifically Southeast Asia, understands the value of safety training, both for pilots and maintainers,” Sale said. Consequently, a campaign is currently underway to “increase awareness of the value of [this] training.”