Bell exhibited a privately owned 505 light helicopter at Singapore Airshow 2026, held from 3-8 February in the Southeast Asian city state. However, the company emphasised that the Bell 505 as a military trainer “is the biggest focus”.
The Republic of Korea Army and Navy share a fleet of Bell 505s, with the last of 40 helicopters and eight simulators delivered in June 2025. The contract had only been signed in May 2022.
Furthermore, the Indonesian Navy utilises the type for training helicopter pilots, plus another operator in the Asia-Pacific region is the Japan Coast Guard. More than 500 Bell 505s have been delivered to date. Other military operators globally include Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan and Montenegro.
David Sale, Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Bell, told Asian Military Review, “There’s over a hundred 505 training opportunities that we see here in Asia. We’re pursuing every one of those right now.” The potential market includes old analogue helicopters reaching end of life, as well as the need for interim training helicopters with glass cockpits before pilots step into the most advanced platforms.
At Singapore Airshow 2026, Bell was also demonstrating the Veris virtual reality flight simulator from TRU Simulation, a subsidiary of Bell Textron’s. This was the first time it has been exhibited in Asia-Pacific.
By pairing up the Veris simulator with the Bell 505 aircraft, Sale said the combination is ideal for training military pilots, as they can do all their emergency procedures and some flight training on the simulator.
The simulator received Level 7 flight training device certification last year, the highest fidelity standard for helicopters, from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Bell stated, “TRU Simulation’s Veris delivers advanced pilot training for the Bell 505, offering pilots immersive flight cues, high-fidelity visuals and a realistic cockpit environment.”
The simulator is an exact match to a Bell 505 cockpit in terms of hardware and data accuracy. Sale noted that Bell can thus offer military customers a complete training package with ab initio courseware, simulators and aircraft.
The Bell 505 is powered by a single Safran Arrius 2R engine with dual-channel full authority digital engine control. It is also equipped with a Garmin G1000H NXi avionics suite.
AMR understands that the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) currently has a tender out to renew its helicopter training programme. This is currently managed by ST Engineering and employs Airbus H120 Colibri helicopters.
It is believed this tender will close imminently, and various helicopter OEMs and training providers are presumably competing. Bell, which has a significant footprint in Singapore, confirmed its interest, but could say little else.
Nonetheless, Sale touted Bell’s high helicopter availability rates as a boon for any military training operator. For example, the Bell Helicopter Training Academy based in Singapore achieves availability rates of more than 95% for its fleet of helicopters.
One other enormous opportunity for the Bell 505 is the US Army’s Flight School Next programme to replace its UH-72A Lakota fleet with approximately 270 helicopters.
Bell also displayed a scale model of the MV-75 FLRAA at Singapore Airshow 2026. Sale said the MV-75, earmarked to replace US Army Black Hawks, will revolutionise military aviation. The US Army selected the type in December 2022, and it is slated to enter service in 2028.
Delivering twice the speed and range of current assault helicopters, Sale said there could be a huge market for the MV-75 in the Asia-Pacific region.
In the meantime, Sale said the Bell 412, which is popular with militaries such as Indonesia and the Philippines, acts as a good bridge for military users. Incidentally, the Philippine Army included a budget for one Bell 412EPX for aeromedical tasks this year, although a contract has not yet been finalised.
by Gordon Arthur
