AgustaWestland Finalizes Civil Tiltrotor Purchase | Aviation International News

AgustaWestland Finalizes Civil Tiltrotor Purchase

The long-troubled partnership between AgustaWestland and Bell Helicopter to develop a civil tiltrotor is officially over.

AgustaWestland completed its acquisition of the civil tiltrotor program from Bell Helicopter today. The AW609 (formerly BA609) has been in development since 1996, and a prototype has been flying since 2003. Certification of the convertable airplane is now planned for 2015/16.

By Mark Huber • Contributor

November 29, 2011

The long-troubled partnership between AgustaWestland and Bell Helicopter to develop a civil tiltrotor is officially over. After years of messy public discord, the companies had announced a preliminary agreement in June for AgustaWestland, pending regulatory approvals, to assume the assets of Bell/Agusta Aerospace, the joint entity formed to develop the aircraft.

AgustaWestland announced on Tuesday that the acquisition has been completed and that a new U.S.-based entity would be formed to finish certification of the tiltrotor in 2015 or 2016. Development work will be based at AgustaWestland’s facility in Cascina Costa, Italy, where a third AW609 prototype is now under construction.

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