California helicopter maker lands major Army training deal, could support hundreds of US jobs

A California helicopter manufacturer whose R66 helicopter was selected for use in a major new U.S. Army flight training program said the effort could support hundreds of American jobs.

Robinson Helicopter Company, based in Torrance, California, will provide its R66 turbine helicopter for the Army’s Flight School Next program as part of a team led by M1 Support Services.

The program will train the next generation of Army helicopter pilots at Fort Rucker, Alabama. The R66 was selected as the team’s aircraft for the Army’s Initial Entry Rotary-Wing training program.

"Robinson didn't just check the boxes; it blew past them, beating out competitors on price, performance and resiliency," company spokesperson Erica Dumas told FOX Business.

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Robinson Helicopter CEO David Smith said the selection shows that an American-made aircraft can compete with foreign-built products in a critical military training role.

"This is a really powerful demonstration of American-made displacing what are currently foreign products that occupy this very important role of training Army aviators," Smith told FOX Business. 

Smith said the program will create demand for maintenance workers, instructors and overhaul specialists in Alabama while also driving additional work at Robinson’s California factory.

"There’s an opportunity for us to both sell these aircraft and the parts that feed them for 26 years," he said, adding that future exports to allied nations could help create "likely hundreds of jobs over time" in Torrance, California.

Robinson says the R66 is 100% U.S.-designed and manufactured, with more than 85% of its parts produced at the company’s vertically integrated Torrance facility.

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"We absolutely have the skills, the resources to design, the resources to innovate, and ultimately to make the hard manufactured products that build these products," Smith said.

The company says the R66 has the lowest acquisition price and direct operating cost of any turbine helicopter in its class over the past decade while giving Army pilots experience with modern avionics, autopilot systems and night-vision capabilities.

Smith said those savings could allow the Army to redirect funding toward other priorities.

"One of the great benefits of this project is it will help the Army allocate more funding to some of the more significant projects they have [in] the future," he said.

The contract also advances Robinson’s expansion into defense.

"This is a way for us to contribute directly to an area of great need," he said.

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Smith also argued that rebuilding America’s defense industrial base will require renewed emphasis on skilled trades.

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"We need to rebuild that first, the appetite and the interest of the workforce to go into these very important skilled areas and make it a fun and cool business to be in again," Smith said.

Robinson also plans to reinvest proceeds from the program into research and development, including unmanned aircraft and other defense technologies.

"I'm an engineer first," he said. "And so my mindset is, how can we continue to use wins like this to reinvest in the business and grow in the years to come?"