Last Updated on Monday, 24 November 2025, 21:01 by Writer
The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) has acquired two new Bell helicopters and they are expected to arrive in the country next week, Chief-of-Defence Staff (CDS) Brigadier Omar Khan said on Sunday.
He said the Bell 429 and Bell 407 are “new” and they cost “several millions” of dollars.
Online publications say a brand new Bell 429 can cost up to US$10.2 million and a Bell 407 a maximum US$3.2 million though the costs can be higher or lower based on a number of factors.
The US Federal Aviation Administration says the choppers that Guyana bought from Bell Textron Inc were manufactured in 2025.
Mr Khan confirmed that the helicopters were being flown to Guyana. “They are enroute, arriving by mid next week,” he told Demerara Waves Online News.
FlightAware shows that they left the US on November 21 and they arrived Sunday afternoon in Puerto Rico, having stopped in The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands and the Dominican Republic.
The reputable Facebook group, Guyanese Pilots, on Sunday posted pictures of the two rotorcraft bearing United States (US) registration markings which will be changed to Guyanese registration markings which will be issued by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
The Bell 429 GlobalRanger, bearing registration marking N539BT, is a nine-seater two-engine aircraft that can be used for executive, air ambulance and emergency services and public safety rapid response, according to Bell.
The company also states that the Bell 407, with registration marking, N564BH, can be used for public safety including fire safety, carrying large crew or transporting critical equipment, and air ambulance and emergency services.
The acquisition of the new helicopters comes almost two years after a Bell 412EPI helicopter crashed in Guyana’s interior on December 6, 2023 while on a military mission.
Veteran Guyanese pilot Michael Charles and four other servicemen lost their lives, while a pilot and another man survived.
The Guyana government is yet to make that crash report public.
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