Bell and Thales Collaborate on Flight Controls of the Future

Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced today a teaming agreement with Thales, for the development of flight control systems for Bell’s vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft and on-demand mobility (ODM) solutions.

“We continue to expand our team and capabilities for our ODM aircraft to bring the most advanced technology available and new vertical lift solutions to the market,” said Bell’s Scott Drennan, Vice President of Innovation. “Our collaboration with Thales is intended to ensure a state-of-the-art, affordable flight controls system that will be designed to meet the needs of future piloted and fully autonomous on-demand mobility vehicles.”

Thales is engaged in creating the aerospace solutions that will make tomorrow’s vertical take- off and landing possible. As a global leader in commercial and military avionics and air traffic management, Thales designs systems that strive for the highest standards for future air mobility.

“Thales is playing a leading role in shaping the autonomous world,” said Thales Vice President for Avionics in Canada, Michel Grenier. “We are delighted to partner with Bell and contribute to the future of on-demand mobility. This agreement demonstrates our expertise in avionics and best-in-class flight control technologies that support critical safety and autonomy requirements.”

Bell continues to build the ODM network for the development of the Air Taxi. Thales will lead the flight controls system technology design and development. Additional partners announced will provide propulsion systems, avionics and vehicle management computers.