U.S. soldiers fly in a UH-72 Lakota helicopter near Pine Valley, Calif., on Feb. 24, 2025. The Lakota currently serves as the Army’s primary training helicopter for rotary-wing aviators. (Justin Nye/U.S. Army)
Army helicopter aviators of the future may be under the tutelage of contracted civilian pilots during their initial training pipeline instead of attending instruction at a military-operated schoolhouse.
Bell Textron and M1 Support Services are the two finalists being considered to take over key parts of the Army’s helicopter pilot training program, the companies said in separate statements.
The initiative stems from a December solicitation in which the service invited commercial companies to compete for the potential outsourcing of certain aspects of Army rotary-wing training. Service aviators are currently trained at the Army Aviation Branch at Fort Rucker, Ala.
Under the proposal, instruction would shift to a facility owned and operated by the contractor, an unprecedented move for Army aviation, the solicitation said.
The possible change comes in the midst of a Pentagon examination of aviation safety trends.
U.S. soldiers complete a landing checklist aboard a UH-72A Lakota helicopter outside the D.C. Armory in Washington on Feb. 25, 2026. The aircraft, the Army’s current training platform for rotary-wing aviators, could be replaced under the Flight School Next program. (Melissa Sterling/Air National Guard)
The rate of aviation incidents rose from 1.3 mishaps per 100,000 flight hours in 2020 to 2.02 mishaps per 100,000 flight hours in 2024, an increase of 55%, according to Defense Department data released last year.
The initiative appears aimed in part at addressing these concerns by improving aviator proficiency through the use of commercially available training platforms and equipment.
Traditionally, Army helicopter pilots have trained on the UH-72A Lakota. Under the proposals, Bell and M1 would instead use commercial aircraft, including the Bell 505 or the R66 from Robinson, for initial instruction.
Kurt Rosell, a former signal soldier who is now a civilian helicopter flight instructor, was among several aviators praising the proposed overhaul, Military Times reported Thursday.
The platforms proposed by Bell and M1 would let Army aviators rely less on complex technology when learning to fly, Rosell said.
The Army has not yet announced when the final selection phase of the Flight School Next program will take place.
An Army instructor pilot prepares a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter for takeoff at Fort Rucker, Ala., on Feb. 9, 2022. Army aviators are currently trained at Fort Rucker under a military-run flight school model that could shift to contractor-led instruction under the Flight School Next program. (Michael Needham/U.S. Army)
