Bell Textron Inc. has been selected to advance to the second phase of the United States Army’s Flight School Next competition, marking the next step in the service’s effort to modernise military flight training.

 

The announcement was made on 5 January 2026, confirming that Bell and its industry teammates will continue in the competitive evaluation process. The company is proposing a turnkey training solution built around the Bell 505 helicopter, supported by the Bell Training Academy and modern training technologies.

 

Jeffrey Schloesser, Senior Vice President of Strategic Pursuits at Bell, said the company was honoured to progress in the programme. He noted Bell’s long-standing involvement in military flight training and highlighted the Bell 505 as a proven platform, supported by experienced industry partners, to meet the Army’s future training requirements.

 

Bell’s relationship with the U.S. Army’s flight training programmes spans more than seven decades. The company’s aircraft have included the H-13 Sioux, the Army’s first primary trainer, followed by the UH-1H and the Bell TH-67. The Bell 505 represents the latest evolution of this lineage, building on the performance and reliability established by its predecessors.

 

As the Flight School Next competition progresses, Bell’s team aims to demonstrate how its integrated solution can effectively support the Army in transforming student pilots into the next generation of Aviation Warfighters.