Bell Textron To Supply The Royal Jordanian Air Force With 10 Bell 505 Training Helicopters
The Royal Jordanian Air Force (Silāḥ ul-Jawu al-Malakī ‘al-Urdunī) signed a contract with the US aerospace company Bell Textron to purchase 10 Bell 505 Jet Ranger X helicopters during the 13th Special Operations Forces Exhibition and Conference (SOFEX 2022). General Mohammed Fathi Hiyasat, Commander of the Royal Jordanian Air Force, and Patrick Moulay, Vice President of Commercial Sales and Marketing at Bell Helicopter, signed the contract. At the signing event were numerous senior US officials, including Henry Wooster, US ambassador to Jordan.
The contract, according to Bell Textron, calls for the delivery of ten Bell 505 helicopters, together with flight training equipment and a comprehensive computer-based training program. The helicopters will be used by the Defense Forces’ King Hussein Air College at Mafraq airbase to provide basic and advanced rotor aircraft flight training to the RJAF. Jordan will receive the first five helicopters in 2023 and the remaining five in 2024, Patrick Moulay told Breaking Defense. The new helicopters will replace the Robinson R44 II fleet that is currently used for training at Jordan’s Mafraq airbase’s King Hussein Air College.
“It is with profound gratitude to the Royal Jordanian Air Force that we share news of this agreement to purchase the Bell 505s as the new helicopter trainer for the Air Force.” said Patrick Moulay, Vice President of Commercial Sales and Marketing at Bell Helicopter.
“We are dedicated to the Armed Forces, the Air Force, and the citizens of Jordan and offer our commitment to ensure the best of service,” said Sameer Rehman, Bell’s managing director for Africa and the Middle East. “The Bell 505 will serve alongside the men and women of the Air Force by playing a critical role in ensuring the operational readiness of its cadets.”
General Mohammed Fathi Hiyasat, commander of the Royal Jordanian Air Force, stated, “We look forward to adding the Bell 505 aircraft to our fleet and providing our pilots with one of the best possible aircraft for their training. The addition of 10 new aircraft will enable us to further expand our operations in the country, in turn increasing the capabilities of the Royal Jordanian Air Force. “
The Bell 505 Jet Ranger X (JRX) is an American/Canadian light helicopter developed and manufactured by Bell Helicopter. Jet Ranger X is built to accommodate a variety of operational categories, including the utilities sector, corporate and private owners, and training facilities. The helicopter’s standard avionics package includes a fully integrated Garmin G1000H flight deck with twin 10.4-inch LCD displays, which reduces the pilot’s workload, motion chart display, traffic information system, airport diagrams, flight planning, power status display, and engine instruments.
The Bell 505 Jet Ranger X is powered by a Turbomeca Arrius 2R engine and a dual-channel FADEC system that produces 504 shaft horsepower at takeoff and speeds of more than 120 knots. The helicopter, which can carry a pilot and four passengers, has a useful load capacity of 680 kilograms and a range of 566 kilometers (306nm). The helicopter also has a maximum endurance of more than 3.9 hours and can reach a maximum altitude of 20,000ft (6.096m).