Fort Worth, TX (April 7, 2016) – Bell Helicopter, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced today it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with PT Whitesky Aviation for 30 Bell 505 Jet Ranger X helicopters. The aircraft will be used for air taxi operations throughout Indonesia and its more than 14,000 islands.

The agreement was signed with PT Whitesky Aviation in Jakarta, Indonesia:

Pictured: Bell Helicopter and PT Whitesky Aviation leadership

“Our vision is to provide air transportation services that offer our customers the flexibility they need at unsurpassed levels of safety and customer satisfaction,” said Denon Prawiraatmadja, CEO, PT Whitesky Aviation. “The Bell 505 allows us to safely, reliably and comfortably transport our customers at a very competitive cost throughout Indonesia, the fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia.”

PT Whitesky Aviation, located in Jakarta, Indonesia, is an emerging aviation company, specializing in non-scheduled (charter) flight. The company currently operates a fleet of six Bell Helicopter aircraft, including three Bell 429s and three Bell 407s.

“We are delighted PT Whitesky Aviation has chosen the Bell 505 to support their air taxi operations as they bring added capability to the region,” said Matt Hasik, executive vice president, Commercial Business. “Designed with safety, efficiency and reliability in mind, the Bell 505 offers customers an unmatched combination of value, performance, and features and is uniquely suited to support this emerging market.”

With a cruise speed of 125 knots (232 km/h), range of 360 nautical miles (667 km) and useful load of 1,500 pounds (608 kg), the Bell 505 is designed to be safe and easy to fly while remaining affordably priced. The customer-driven design of the aircraft places safety, performance and affordability at the forefront, blending proven systems with advanced technology and a sleek, modern design. The Garmin G1000H Integrated Avionics Suite provides pilots critical flight information at a glance to maximize situational awareness. Pilot workload is further reduced by the Turbomeca Arrius 2R engine with dual channel Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC).

“This signing is testament to the growing demand for the Bell 505, especially in the corporate and VIP sectors. There are now more than 380 letters of intent around the globe, and more than 130 Bell 505 LOIs in the Asia Pacific Region alone,” added Hasik.

Every Bell Helicopter is backed by the largest support network in the industry with over one hundred Authorized Customer Service Facilities located around the world. Ranked number one by customers for 22 consecutive years in the Helicopter Product Support Survey from Professional Pilot Magazine, Bell Helicopter has also earned top honors in Vertical Magazine’s first-ever comprehensive helicopter manufacturer’s survey. Bell Helicopter is committed to having resources where customers operate to speed up delivery of service and support, and give customers access to service professionals that are easy to reach, know the operating environment and understand their needs.

Earlier this year, PT Whitesky Aviation enrolled their fleet in Bell Helicopter’s Customer Advantage Plan – a new aftermarket parts service plan that provides a predictable monthly cost, reduces inventory costs and maximizes aircraft availability.

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About Bell Helicopter

Bell Helicopter, a wholly owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., is an industry-leading producer of commercial and military, manned and unmanned vertical-lift aircraft and the pioneer of the revolutionary tiltrotor aircraft. Globally recognized for world-class customer service, innovation and superior quality, Bell's global workforce serves customers flying Bell aircraft in more than 120 countries.

About Textron Inc.

Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna, Beechcraft, Hawker, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, Textron Systems, and TRU Simulation + Training. For more information, visit www.textron.com.

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements which may project revenues or describe strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; these statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, changes in aircraft delivery schedules, or cancellations or deferrals of orders, the efficacy of research and development investments to develop new products or unanticipated expenses in connection with the launching of significant new products or programs; the timing of our new product launches or certifications of our new aircraft products; our ability to keep pace with our competitors in the introduction of new products and upgrades with features and technologies desired by our customers; changes in government regulations or policies on the export and import of our products; volatility in the global economy or changes in worldwide political conditions that adversely impact demand for our products; performance issues with key suppliers or subcontractors; difficult conditions in the financial markets which may adversely impact our customers’ ability to fund or finance purchases of our products; and continued demand softness or volatility in the  markets in which we do business.

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