BELL AGUSTA AEROSPACE

Bell Agusta Aerospace Company was a joint venture established in 1998 by Bell Helicopter and AgustaWestland, which had been collaborating on various projects since 1952. The company specialized in the production of tiltrotors and its parent companies dissolved the joint venture in 2011. AgustaWestland obtained full ownership of the tiltrotor program, renaming the company AgustaWestland Tilt-Rotor Company (AWTRC), while the BA609 tiltrotor was rebranded as the AW609. The AW609 is a civil twin-engined tiltrotor vertical take-off and landing aircraft with a configuration similar to the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey. The history of the partnership between Bell Helicopter and AgustaWestland dates back to a manufacturing and technology agreement signed with Agusta for the Bell 47 and Bell 206 models and as a sublicense via Agusta with Westland for the Bell 47. The relationship persisted after the two firms merged, with the exclusion of the AB139, which was renamed as the AW139. The AgustaWestland Tilt-Rotor Company is wholly owned by AgustaWestland, and the company is the new type certificate applicant to FAA while continuing to operate from the United States.