- The SPINE program covers 49 aircraft — 28 AH-1Z Vipers and 21 UH-1Y Venoms — with modifications starting at Bell’s Amarillo center in mid-2027
- The upgrade boosts onboard electrical power and rebuilds subsystems into a scalable architecture
- The deal adds to Bell’s H-1 work, including a $557 million logistics support contract from December 2024
Bell Textron has received a potential $300 million contract from the Department of the Navy to install structural and electrical upgrades on Marine Corps H-1 helicopters. The award covers a base period and three option years, the Textron subsidiary said Monday.
Work under the Structural and Power Improvements for NextGen Effects program, or SPINE, will cover 49 aircraft: 28 AH-1Z Vipers and 21 UH-1Y Venoms. Bell will perform the modifications at its Amarillo Assembly Center beginning in mid-2027. First deliveries are set for 2028.
The contract combines firm-fixed-price, fixed-price incentive and cost-plus-fixed-fee arrangements.
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What Does the SPINE Upgrade Do to Marine Corps H-1 Helicopters?
SPINE raises the electrical power available on the aircraft and rebuilds existing subsystems into a scalable electrical architecture. Bell said the capability will allow new equipment to be added to the aircraft over time.
The upgrade opens the path to what the program calls Series A capability, covering improved defensive systems, digital interoperability and the added electrical power itself. Series A brings integration of net-enabled weapons and data links, including Link 16 and an advanced data bus. Separate mission kit changes to the UH-1Y improves its fast rope, hoist and litter equipment for personnel recovery work.
Col. Jason Duke, program manager at PMA-276, said the electrical increase will “ensure the H-1 fleet will continue to be relevant into the 2040s.”
The program was previously known as Structural Improvement and Electrical Power Upgrade, or SIEPU.
How Did Bell Get to SPINE Phase 3.0?
Bell has finished SPINE modifications on two aircraft, one AH-1Z and one UH-1Y, which went to Naval Air Station Patuxent River for flight testing. Those tests are determining the final configuration.
That work started at Bell’s Drives System Center and Repair and Overhaul Center before moving to Amarillo for the electrical and structural modifications. The new contract, designated Phase 3.0, marks the start of fleet modification into the tested configuration.
What Other H-1 Work Does Bell Hold With the Navy?
Bell received a potential five-year contract worth $557 million in December 2024 for spares, repair and logistics support covering rotors and drive components on the H-1 fleet. That work runs at Fort Worth, Texas, and Cherry Point, North Carolina, through December 2029.
The company took a separate Navy award worth approximately $228 million in September 2022 to carry out hardware and software updates on H-1 aircraft.
