A CEREMONY held at the Paris Air Show on June 19, 2019, celebrated the order of a single Subaru Bell 412EPX from the Japan National Policy Agency (JPNA).
The event marks the first order for the locally produced variant of the Bell 412EPX, the co-development of which was first announced in 2018.
Shoichiro Tozuka, Corporate Senior Vice President of Subaru and President of Subaru Aerospace, said: “We are honoured that Subaru received the world’s first order for the Subaru Bell 412EPX by the JPNA. We thank Bell for their co-operation and, together, we are committed to delivering the highest quality helicopter to the National Police Agency. This order is the first milestone to bringing the Subaru Bell 412EPX to customers around the world.”
Subaru Aerospace has teamed with Bell to offer the Subaru Bell 412EPX to the Japan Ministry of Defense (JMOD), to fulfil its New Utility Helicopter (NUH) requirement. The company delivered the first prototype NUH to the JMOD for evaluation in February 2019.
The 412EPX is a commercial version of a military variant dubbed UH-X selected in 2015 as the replacement type for Japan Ground Self-Defense Force UH-1Js.
Nigel Pittaway
