Features Multiple Aircraft At SOFIC 2013

Anthony Moreland will return to Bell Helicopter as managing director, North America. In this role, Moreland is responsible for all sales and marketing activities in the United States and Canada.

“Anthony is a valuable addition to Bell Helicopter with extensive sales and marketing experience, as well as established relationships with customers around the world,” said Danny Maldonado, Bell Helicopter’s executive vice president of Sales and Marketing. “We are very excited to have Anthony on our team as we continue to expand our commercial business in North America beyond.”

Most recently, Moreland led the North America and Global Accounts team at Sikorsky Aircraft. During his previous tenure at Bell Helicopter, Moreland held a number of sales and marketing roles with increasing responsibility culminating in the role of executive director of Commercial Business Development and Marketing.

In addition to his professional business experience, Moreland has a strong background in rotorcraft aviation as a decorated military officer in the United States Army, qualified on both the Apache and Cobra attack helicopters. Moreland earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Texas Christian University and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing degree from Southern Illinois University. His extensive accomplishments include four Army Achievement Medals and five Army Commendation Medals for meritorious service and the Leadership Award from the U.S. Army at Fort Rucker.

The company also said Tuesday its participation in the annual Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC), held May 14-16 in Tampa, FL, will feature an armed Bell 407 on static display, its first commercially qualified armed helicopter, a CV-22 model and 3-D interactive programs demonstrating the capabilities of the V-22 Osprey and Bell V-280 Valor.

“SOFIC provides an important opportunity for us to spend time with current and potential customers,” said Mitch Snyder, executive vice president for military programs at Bell Helicopter. “Our new 3-D programs give attendees the opportunity to experience the unmatched capabilities of the V-22 Osprey and Bell V-280 Valor. In addition, the armed Bell 407 on static display shows customers the versatility this aircraft offers with its various weapons configurations.”

The V-22 Osprey (pictured) is combat-proven and performs missions no other aircraft can approach. Tiltrotor is the only vertical lift platform capable of rapid self-deployment to any theater of operation. The V-22 is one of the safest rotorcraft in the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps fleet with more than 170,000 flight hours and outstanding operational performance.

Introduced at the 2013 Army Aviation Association of America’s (AAAA) annual form and expo, the Bell V-280 Valor is Bell Helicopter’s offering for the Joint Multi Role (JMR)/Future Vertical Lift (FVL) Technology Demonstrator. Its unmatched capabilities – speed, range and payload – and its operational agility deliver the best value at the lowest technical risk. With 280 KTAS cruise speed and a combat range of 500-800 nm, the Valor provides twice the speed and twice the range of the current medium helicopter, more than doubling operational reach. The Bell V-280 is a true force multiplier as a result of its capabilities, covering more than five times the area of a current MEDEVAC and requiring smaller support infrastructure and security.

The armed Bell 407 includes the advanced technology of the best selling Bell 407GX. Built on the proven Bell 407 platform and designed for military and parapublic operations, the aircraft encompasses performance, reliability and maintainability. The armed Bell 407 is capable of performing a wide range of missions, configurable for multiple weapons and surveillance packages, including mini-guns, rocket pods, multi-sensor camera and NVG capabilities.

SOFIC’s 2013 theme, “Strengthening the SOF Bond,” provides a forum for military, government, academia and industry stakeholders to network and discuss current and future challenges and how to best support U.S. Special Operations Forces in four key areas: preservation of the force and families, human domain, support of the Theater Special Operations Commands (TSOCs) and innovation. Events include a business opportunities session, networking reception, USSOCOM Component Commander panel, USSOCOM Senior Enlisted Advisors panel, gala reception, dinner and awards presentation.

(V22 Osprey image provided by Bell Helicopter)

FMI: www.bellhelicopter.com