Bell Textron Receives $33.6 Million Navy Deal to Upgrade Marine Corps Helicopters
The Fort Worth aerospace maker will build structural and power improvement kits for the AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom fleet, with work due to wrap in July 2028.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Bell Textron Inc., the Fort Worth aerospace maker that pioneered the tiltrotor, received a $33.6 million Navy contract to strengthen and re-power the Marine Corps attack and utility helicopter fleet, as announced on war.gov.
The fixed-price incentive award funds H-1 Structural and Power Improvements for Next-Generation Effects Phase III kits for the AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom aircraft, according to war.gov. The package covers nine A-kits, two mission D-kits and long-lead components that include 12 rotorcraft station control units, 12 AC generators, 12 generator control units and seven combining gear boxes.
Bell Textron is a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron Inc. that builds military rotorcraft in Fort Worth and Amarillo, Texas, and commercial helicopters in Mirabel, Quebec, according to textron.com. The company has served defense customers for more than 85 years and traces its roots to Bell Aircraft Corporation, founded in 1935, according to defenceleaders.com.
The upgrades matter because the Viper and Venom form the backbone of Marine Corps rotary aviation. Added electrical capacity and reinforced airframes let the aircraft carry heavier sensors, weapons and mission systems as threats grow more sophisticated. Bell Textron and its subcontractors across 11 states stand to benefit, while the Navy shoulders the cost of keeping an aging platform relevant.
Crews will perform the work across the country, with Fort Worth handling 56.7% and Amarillo 7.7%, according to war.gov. Additional labor falls to sites in Tempe, Arizona, Stilwell, Oklahoma, Anaheim, California, Crestview, Florida, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Chicago, Mansfield, Texas, Phoenix and Dayton, Ohio. The Navy will obligate fiscal 2026 aircraft procurement funds of $13.7 million and fiscal 2025 funds of $20 million at award, according to war.gov.
The H-1 program has long anchored Bell Textron’s defense business, stretching back to the UH-1 Huey that carried troops through the Vietnam War and became the largest division of Textron, according to defenceleaders.com. The AH-1Z and UH-1Y share roughly 85% of their major components, a design choice that lowers maintenance and training costs across the fleet.
The award ranks as a mid-sized order against Bell Textron’s broader ledger. Contracts to the company in 2026 have reached $76,857,684, and this deal was one of eight Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on July 24, 2026, according to firestore records.
For the average reader, the spending reflects how the Pentagon stretches the service life of existing aircraft rather than buying new ones. Sustaining and upgrading proven platforms spreads defense dollars across supplier towns from Oklahoma to Michigan, supporting skilled manufacturing jobs.
This has happened before. The military routinely funds incremental H-1 improvements, awarding structural, avionics and power kits in phases as the fleet evolves. Phase III follows earlier tranches of the same Next-Generation Effects effort.
Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River, Maryland, serves as the contracting activity and will oversee delivery. The government did not compete the contract, and the company expects to complete the work in July 2028, according to war.gov.
Bell Textron’s fortunes have long risen with government demand, as happened before. Textron purchased Bell Aerospace in 1960, and the helicopter division’s success with the UH-1 Huey turned it into the parent company’s largest unit within a decade, according to defenceleaders.com. The company rebranded simply as Bell on February 22, 2018, capping a run that carried it from Buffalo, New York fighter shops to the world’s leading tiltrotor manufacturer.
The total value of contracts awarded to Bell Textron Inc.in 2026 reached $76,857,684. Overall, this award was announced among 8 Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on July 24, 2026.
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