US clears major sale of Bell helicopters to Iraq

US clears major sale of Bell helicopters to Iraq: 

Le gouvernement américain a approuvé la vente potentielle d'hélicoptères Bell 407M et 412EPX à l'Irak pour un montant de 800 millions de dollars, incluant des armes et des capteurs, afin d'améliorer les capacités de défense du pays. 

$800 million package includes rotorcraft plus associated weapons and sensors.
The US government has cleared the possible sale of Bell 407M and 412EPX helicopters to Iraq.

The potential Foreign Military Sales deal is valued at $800 million, but the US Department of State does not list the number of helicopters, or the breakdown of each type.

“The proposed sale will improve Iraq’s capability to meet current and future threats by improving its rotary-wing transport, reconnaissance, and air-to-surface targeting capabilities,” says the US Department of State.

In addition to the helicopters, the package includes GAU-19 three-barrelled machine guns, seven-shot rocket launchers, L3Harris Wescam MX-15HDI electro-optical/infrared sensors, and missile launch detectors; logistics and training to support the programme ar also included.

Cirium, an aviation analytics company, indicates that the Iraqi army is a major operator of Bell rotorcraft, with 86 examples across seven types in service.

These include 25 407s, 15 407GXs, 15 505s, 14 UH-1H Huey IIs, and nine OH-58Cs. Overall, the average age of the army’s Bell fleet is 25.1 years, while the average age of the OH-58Cs is 56.6 years, and the UH-1s 58.1 years.

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