Helicopter   Military Aircraft Procurement   Defense Industry & Major Contractors   Textron  

Bell wins $300M SPINE upgrade contract for up to 49 US Marine Corps H-1-family helicopters

Bookmark this story

Bell has secured a $300 million contract to apply its SPINE (Structural and Power Improvements for NextGen Effects) modernization to up to 49 US Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper and UH-1Y Venom helicopters. Deliveries are scheduled for 2028, with the upgrades aimed at enabling more advanced operational capabilities.

Discovered 2026-07-27T11:16:26.496327-07:00 | 2026-07-27T11:16:26.496327-07:00

Briefing

What Hype is tracking

  • The contract covers SPINE modernization for up to 49 AH-1Z and UH-1Y helicopters, directly impacting USMC attack and utility rotorcraft capability development.
  • At $300 million with deliveries targeted for 2028, the award provides a near-term signal on H-1 fleet sustainment investment and industrial workload for a major US defense program.
  • The SPINE upgrade scope is tied to structural and power improvements for next-generation effects, making it a key datapoint for how Bell is positioning future upgrade pathways for the H-1 fleet.

Reported By

APAC Defence Reporter defence-industry.eu AeroTime Aviation Week pucara.org avweb.com
Sources Tracked
15
First Seen
2026-07-27T11:16:26.496327-07:00
Latest Update
2026-07-28T16:17:24.205402-07:00
Coverage
Defense

Sources

Hype groups these reports into one evolving story so you can compare coverage without losing the thread.

Related Coverage