Gents,
- The militay version fo the 139 is the A-149
- AW is establishing a 139 factory in Waco, TX next year.
- The Bell/AW busniess relationship remains very close.
- From the inception of the seperate Bell Agusta corporation, created to build and market the 139 and 609 tilt-rotor, there was always an assumption that it would break up once either or both a/c reached solid sales ground. AB was a place holder to take advantage of mutual engineering development and maketing capabilites without placing undue financial risk on either parent company. Now that 139's are selling like hot cakes around the world, and teh 609 is in final, pre-sales development, it was deemed appropriate to make the split before managing it became too complex. AW will carry on with the 139/149, while Bell moves ahead with the 609.
- the winner of the Army's LUH will probably also, in turn, get the USAF Utiliy Helo award, and I would be quite surprised if it was not the 139. Even without either or both of these contracts, there is plenty of market share in teh years to come to keep the Waco plant busy.
- Bell's offer of the 412 for LUH is simply throwing their hat in the ring without much expectation of winning. Hedging their bets. Remember, the 412 is built in Canada, while the 139 will be built in the good old USA. And, there will certainly be a role for Bell in 139 production in the US as a subcontractor.
Cheers
