Bell Helicopter inked a deal with Russia’s JSC Ural Works of Civil Aviation (UWCA) on Monday to assemble new 407GXP singles for UWCA in Russia to speed their inclusion on the country's civil aircraft registry. As part of the deal, UWCA agreed to acquire “several” 407GXPs by the end of this year. The helicopters will be assembled at the UWCA facility in Yekaterinburg.

“This is a key milestone for Bell Helicopter that we expect will lead to further opportunities within the Russian market,” said Patrick Moulay, Bell vice president of global sales and marketing. According to UWCA chairman Artur Schtankov, “We believe the Bell 407GXP’s performance and operating cost make it the right helicopter for the Russian market.”

Bell unveiled the 407GXP in March. Compared with its progenitor, the 407GXP incorporates more functional avionics, a power push on the Rolls-Royce 250-C47B/8 engine to 862 shp, slightly lower fuel consumption and 500-hour longer TBO on the main transmission. The extra power also provides for a 50-pound payload increase and better hot-and-high performance.