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(Fort Worth, Texas, Nov 5, 2003) -- Following the remarkable success of the 7/8 scale Bell Eagle Eye Tiltrotor UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) prototype, Bell CEO Mike Redenbaugh has announced a major new effort to design, build and fly a new full scale Bell Eagle Eye by November 1, 2004. Speaking to a handpicked team of about 40 aerospace engineers and manufacturing and production experts, Mr. Redenbaugh said, "there is a strong worldwide interest in the Bell Eagle Eye and we owe it to our customers to develop this full scale prototype to demonstrate the full capacity of this great tiltrotor product." Bell's Director of UAV Programs Robert Dompka explained that while the one-year to flight status goal is a challenge, "Bell has a great history of tackling ambitious projects with teams of dedicated employees; such as the great effort to produce the first Cobra attack helicopter back in the mid-1960s, and more recently the development of the Bell 407 commercial helicopter in less than one year." The Bell Eagle Eye tiltrotor Tactical VTOL unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is the greatest leap in UAV technology in the past half century. Traditionally UAVs have been small fixed wing aircraft requiring either a runway or netting for retrieval. Normally runways are unavailable in the field and netting has proven to be a very hazardous form of UAV retrieval aboard ship often resulting in serious damage to or destruction of the aircraft and very expensive. Helicopters have the advantage of being able to takeoff and land anywhere. However, helicopter UAVs do not have the speed and range of fixed-wing UAV aircraft. Further, small short coupled tail rotor aircraft may not be stable when going through the burble experienced with landing on Navy Surface Combatants. The Bell Eagle Eye is the perfect solution. With its rotors in the vertical position, the Bell Eagle Eye can takeoff, hover and land like a traditional rotary wing aircraft. By tilting its rotors to the horizontal position the Bell Eagle Eye can fly with the high speed and range of a turbo-prop fixed wing airplane. Also, the counter rotating design provides improved stability through the burble. The Bell Eagle Eye Tactical VTOL UAV Demonstrator flew under NAVAIR contract N00019-98-C-0051, VTOL UAV Demonstration Program at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz. The contract required 50 hours of land based flight tests to evaluate the performance and maturity of the aircraft and control system. The Eagle Eye Demonstrator aircraft was the first to finish the 50-hour Land Based Flight Test Task. Its flawless performance has set the standard for VTOL UAV systems. In less than 90 days after its first flight on March 6, 1998, the single Eagle Eye Demonstrator flew 55.5 hours. It made 43 landings, 42 of which were within 15 minutes of the intended take-off time and it completed tests that have expanded the aircraft's envelope and proven its advertised performance and technology maturity claims. During the tests, the envelope was expanded to over 14,600 feet and more than 200 knots True Air Speed (TAS) in level cruise flight; while carrying 210 pounds of payload plus mission fuel, exceeding the objectives substantially. Performance in the "best endurance mission was more than 1.7 hours on station. And in the "best range" mission, the aircraft flew more than 315 nautical miles. Real time target imagery was provided during the flights. Both the aircraft and ground control station performed flawlessly, getting up and going to work for every scheduled flight in a regimented 2-hour range test period. Maintenance requirements (other than pre-flight checks) were almost nonexistent. The Eagle Eye Demonstrator executed all applicable demonstration objectives, and expanded the aircraft's flight envelope substantially. Capabilities demonstrated included:
Officials for Integrated Coast Guard Systems (ICGS) announced in February, 2003, that the Bell Eagle Eye was selected for the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (VUAV) portion of the U.S. Coast Guard's Integrated Deepwater System contract. The Coast Guard's Integrated Deepwater System is a critical multi-year program to modernize and replace aging ships and aircraft, and improve command and control and logistics systems. Bell Helicopter is a subcontractor to Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems, who is a major contractor to ICGS. Under this award, Bell Helicopter is scheduled to begin delivering the Bell Eagle Eye aircraft with a First Unit Equipped (FUE) date of 2006. The total anticipated contract is valued at over $1 billion over the life of the program. > Bell, a leader in Systems Integration developed the state-of-the-art, fully integrated redundant flight control system which boasts of highly automated flight control and built-in test software, as well as fully integrated surface mount circuitry. Using tiltrotor technology, the Bell Eagle Eye System also adds the dimension of speed flexibility to the usual UAV performance parameters. With its rotors tilted forward it can cruise at speeds over 200 knots reducing time to get to an operational area, find moving targets 80-110 nautical miles away in minutes and be easily in-flight re-tasked for another mission. Conversely, it can loiter over a target 100 nm away for four hours. In the hover mode the Bell Eagle Eye can operate from confined spaces, launch and recover automatically from small ships. The Bell Eagle Eye offers the Coast Guard and other sea service users numerous performance capabilities simply not available in helicopter drones. Specifications for the Bell Eagle Eye are as follows:
Bell Helicopter, a subsidiary of Textron Inc., is a $2.2 billion, leading producer of commercial and military helicopters, and the pioneer of the revolutionary tiltrotor aircraft. Globally recognized for customer service, innovation and superior quality, Bell's global workforce of over 7,000 employees serves customers flying Bell aircraft in over 120 countries. Textron Inc. is a $10 billion multi-industry company with 44,000 employees in 40 countries. The company leverages its global network of businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services in industries such as aircraft, fastening systems, industrial products and components and finance. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO and Greenlee, among others. More information is available at www.textron.com. Forward-looking Information: Certain statements made by Textron from time to time are forward-looking statements, including those that discuss strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; or project revenues, income, returns or other financial measures. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the statements, including the following: (a) the extent to which Textron is able to achieve savings from its restructuring plans; (b) uncertainty in estimating the amount and timing of restructuring charges and related costs; (c ) changes in worldwide economic and political conditions that impact interest and foreign exchange rates; (d) the occurrence of work stoppages and strikes at key facilities of Textron or Textron's customers or suppliers; (e) government funding and program approvals affecting products being developed or sold under government programs; (f) cost and delivery performance under various program and development contracts; (g) the adequacy of cost estimates for various customer care programs including servicing warranties; (h) the ability to control costs and successful implementation of various cost reduction programs; (i) the timing of certifications of new aircraft products; (j) the occurrence of further downturns in customer markets to which Textron products are sold or supplied or where Textron Financial offers financing; (k) changes in aircraft delivery schedules or cancellation of orders; (l) Textron's ability to offset, through cost reductions, raw material price increases and pricing pressure brought by original equipment manufacturer customers; (m) the availability and cost of insurance; (n) pension plan income falling below current forecasts; (o) Textron Financial's ability to maintain portfolio credit quality; (p) Textron Financial's access to debt financing at competitive rates; and (q) uncertainty in estimating contingent liabilities and establishing reserves tailored to address such contingencies. For more information on this news contact: Bob Leder (817) 280-6440
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