The
Bell 450 was part of the Marines H-1 upgrade program to remanufacture the current fleet of UH-1N utility helicopters to an advanced configuration featuring common engines and flight dynamics to the also new
AH-1Z Viper
The prototype, a UH-1N converted airframe, first flew on December 20 2001 but the production aircraft were first delivered on 2005 as a new built ones.
The
Super Huey completed the transition from the
UH-1N in West Coast Marines units in 2011 being HMLA-167 from MCAS New River the first one to received them in the East Coast on Sept 29 of that year.
Bell delivered the 160th and final UH-1Y for the US Marines in April 2018
