Page 14 - DSEi JAPAN 2023 - DAY 2 | DAILY NEWS

has been and remains a key market for Bell Bell is offering defence enhancements on
BELL LOOKS in both our military and commercial busi- most of its commercial product line, includ-
ness, given the strength of the Japanese
helicopter segment. We look forward to ing the Bell 407, 429, 412, 505 and 525
platforms. With US Government approval,
TO GROW showcasing our Future Vertical Lift and these aircraft can be equipped with a range
armed commercial helicopter solutions
with the Japanese military and commer- of armament to carry out armed reconnais-
sance, special operations, light attack,
PRESENCE cial helicopters with Japanese government anti-piracy and other missions. “They
parapublic agencies such as the Japan
National Police Agency, who utilize heli- can offer a high level of capability for our
IN JAPAN copters in many of their operations,” a customers in need of advanced rotorcraft
performance,” the spokesperson said.
company spokesperson told Daily News
over email.
With its long-term partner in Japan, Subaru,
delivering the first UH-2 to the JGSDF in July Subaru was awarded the contract in 2015
2022 and the first Subaru BELL 412EPX to for the Japan UH-X program to replace
the Japan National Police Agency in 2021, Japan Ground Self Defence Force’s (JGSDF)
Bell is eyeing future requirements from the fleet of UH-1J aircraft with a militarized
Japanese armed forces. Bell leads the way derivative of the Subaru Bell 412EPX. Bell
in Future Vertical Lift with its V-280 Valor has delivered more than 1,500 helicop-
and Bell 360 Invictus weapons systems. ters since 1952 with more than 300 in use
These next generation aircraft deliver major today. Bell’s office in Tokyo, which opened
gains in speed, agility, lethality, and reach in 2015, is the hub of the company’s sales
to support the manoeuvre force.
and marketing efforts for new aircraft in
The JGSDF is also the first operator of the the commercial and government sectors
V-22 outside of the US military, with the first in Japan. It also supports Bell’s authorized
Japanese V-22 delivered in 2020. “Japan Customer Service Facilities in Japan.

BMT’S NEW REVOLUTION SPARROW

BMT’s Sparrow, an autonomous airground from a low hover, a Sparrow delivery offers merce deliveries to domestic addresses.
payload transfer device, has been granted a much smaller, quieter physical presence
a patent by the U.K. Intellectual Property and a safer, more precise delivery to a The project is looking to partner for fur-
Office. The Sparrow concept was initially wider variety of locations, including con- ther research and development and license
developed by a team at BMT for defence fined spaces close to vertical surfaces and the technology to a range of leading estab-
applications, where drones are being tri- urban infrastructure. lished operators. If development of the
aled to resupply troops and deliver items experimental platform proves successful,
such as sterilized medical equipment to Alongside applications in defence, the BMT is offering a glimpse of an alternative
future in which the environment is not filled
dispersed, unpredictable, and potentially approach may also offer value to manned by the incessant noise of drones buzzing
hostile locations. Still early in its devel- helicopter operations and across other sec- around at low level in close proximity to
opment, Sparrow was selected by the UK tors such as maritime ship-shore deliveries, people, but one where drones remain safely
Ministry of Defence for the highly competi- support to maintenance engineers on tall at height, out of sight, out of earshot and
tive annual flagship innovation event called structures, emergency services, and e-com out of mind.
the “Army Warfighting Experiment”. The
world-first demonstration took place in HM
Naval Base Portsmouth, UK, in November
2022 with the associated” Exploitation
Event” in February 2023.

The Sparrow concept enables the large,
noisy, vulnerable drone to remain much
higher above the complex ground envi-
ronment at the destination. Just how high
depends on the use case; safe controlled
delivery is possible using this approach
from 200ft in windy conditions, and 500-
1000ft in light winds, with additional
options for higher drops.

In comparison to using a traditional winch
14 MARCH-16-2023 WWW.GBP.COM.SG/DAILY NEWS