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Bell TR918 Eagle Eye Achieves Successful First Flight
Bell TR918 Eagle Eye Achieves Successful First Flight
Deepwater Applauds Success of Privately-Funded Risk Reduction Demonstrator, January 28, 2006.
Rosslyn, Virginia -- (Deepwater) January 26, 2005
-- Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT)
company, announced the successful first flight today of its TR918 Eagle Eye
unmanned aircraft, a privately-funded, full-scale risk reduction demonstrator of
the Vertical Take-off and Landing Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle (VUAV) in
development for the Integrated Deepwater System. Integrated Coast Guard Systems
(ICGS), a joint venture of Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] and Northrop Grumman [NYSE:
NOC], awarded Bell Helicopter a contract to commence concept and preliminary
design work for its Eagle Eye tilt rotor (1) VUAV in February 2003.
Eagle Eye performed its first flight in
Fort Worth, Texas
“On behalf of ICGS, I applaud Bell Helicopter for the
successful first flight of the Eagle Eye tilt rotor VUAV - the first of its kind
for any of the armed forces,” said Leo Mackay, ICGS president. “The company’s
private investment in this program is a clear indication of its commitment to
delivering a quality product to the Coast Guard and Team Deepwater.”
The Eagle Eye is a medium-altitude, shipboard and land deployable unmanned
aircraft that will allow the Coast Guard to extend the surveillance,
classification and identification capability of its major cutters through its
speed, range, and endurance, all at a lower cost than manned aircraft. The Eagle
Eye will be deployed aboard the National Security Cutter (NSC) and the Offshore
Patrol Cutter (OPC) as part of the maritime security cutter “force package.”
The first flight of the TR918 Eagle Eye comes on the heels of recently receiving
a certificate of airworthiness for experimental flight-testing from the Federal
Aviation Administration. The first VUAV is planned to be delivered to the Coast
Guard for developmental test and evaluation in 2008.
About Integrated Deepwater System
IDS is a critical multiyear, multibillion dollar program to
modernize and replace the Coast Guard’s aging ships and aircraft and improve
systems for logistics and command and control. It is the largest
recapitalization effort in the history of the Coast Guard. When complete, the
interoperable IDS system will include three classes of new cutters and their
associated small boats, a new fixed-wing manned aircraft fleet, upgraded
helicopters, and both cutter-based and land-based unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs). All of these highly capable assets are linked by C4ISR systems and are
supported by an efficient and progressive integrated logistics system.
About Integrated Coast Guard Systems
ICGS is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and
Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC). ICGS was awarded the Deepwater contract in June
2002. Headquartered in Rosslyn, Va., core leadership teams are located in
Virginia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, and
Washington, D.C.
(1) The Eagle Eye uses the same tiltrotor system as other
Bell-Boeing VTOL designs, most notably the V-22 Osprey (Bell-Boeing)
and the Quad
TiltRotor.
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