Paris, June, 15, 2005

Bell Helicopter, a Textron Company, and Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC), of Taiwan, have formed an alliance establishing a Bell Certified Maintenance Center (CMC) in Taichung.

During ceremonies at the Bell Helicopter Chalet at the Paris Air Show, Bell CEO Michael Redenbaugh presented AIDC’s George Shiah, Sr.VP of Operations and George Fung, Sr.VP of Business Development with a plaque commemorating the occasion. According to Mr. Redenbaugh, the CMC will further strengthen services provided to the Taiwan Army by Bell, and will establish a new capability at AIDC for upgrades, system modifications, testing and maintenance of Bell military helicopters.

The establishment of the CMC at AIDC is another milestone in the long history of cooperation enjoyed by these two companies. AIDC built the Taiwan Army’s current fleet of UH-1H helicopters under license from Bell as well as composite panels for distribution worldwide on Bell’s commercial 412 fleet. AIDC will be able to perform inspections, overhauls, upgrades, testing and modification work for Bell AH-1W helicopters operated by the ROC Army. This also serves as the foundation for the introduction and possible co-production of the AH-1Z and UH-1Y aircraft to meet the future requirements of the Taiwan Army. AIDC will integrate and coordinate with other Taiwan aerospace companies for opportunities to manufacture helicopter parts used in the upgrades.

AIDC expects the CMC to help satisfy the government’s goals of increased self-reliance by providing the highest quality, in-country service to the Republic of China’s military forces and creating greater opportunities for Taiwan’s aerospace industrial sector.

Bell CEO Mike Redenbaugh expressed his pleasure at seeing another important milestone being achieved in the long-term relationship between Bell and AIDC and said he is looking forward to visiting AIDC again in the near future.

Bell Helicopter, a subsidiary of Textron Inc., is a $1.6 billion, leading producer of commercial and military helicopters, and the pioneer of the revolutionary tiltrotor aircraft. Globally recognized for customer service, innovation and superior quality, Bell's global workforce of over 7,500 employees serves customers flying Bell aircraft in over 120 countries.