The Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO) signed Monday a contract with the American company Bell Textron to purchase a number of helicopters.
The move comes within the framework of development and modernization plans aimed at strengthening the RAFO capabilities.
The procurement of this type of aircraft also comes to enhance the level of performance and efficiency enjoyed by the RAFO, in line with the requirements of modernization and development.
This step contributes to supporting the comprehensive development witnessed by the Sultanate of Oman during the prosperous era of His Majesty the Sultan, the Supreme Commander, Oman News Agency (ONA) reported.
The selection of this type of aircraft also meets the elements of flexibility and effective performance that suit the RAFO needs. The purchase of this aircraft will constitute another addition within the framework of the national operational or developmental tasks and duties undertaken by the RAFO especially those related to community service.
Bell is an aerospace and defense company that engineers and manufactures aircraft for critical solutions in extreme scenarios. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas - as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., - Bell has strategic locations around the globe.
In another development, Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. company, announced that its new military multi-engine training aircraft - built upon the versatile and reliable Beechcraft King Air 260 - is making its show and European debut at the Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) from July 22 through Friday, July 26.
This state-of-the-art aircrew training aircraft was selected in 2023 following a full and open competition to modernize aircrew training for the United States Navy’s Multi-Engine Training System (METS) program. Deliveries in support of the up to 64 METS aircraft contracted by Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) began on April 22, 2024. On May 29th at the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries’ annual defence industry tradeshow (CANSEC), Canada announced it will acquire the Beechcraft King Air 260 for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in support of the Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) program in Canada.
Specific capabilities of the aircraft include factory options for TACAN (air-to-air), angle of attack (AOA), V/UHF radio, digital audio system, engine trend monitoring, condition-based maintenance plus, observer/jump seat, passenger mission seats and full-face oxygen masks.
Textron Aviation returns to FIA as the industry leader with more than 1,700 Cessna and Beechcraft turbine aircraft based in Europe and more than 250,000 aircraft delivered worldwide.
