Bell 214ST

The Bell 214ST is a medium-lift, twin-engine helicopter descended from Bell Helicopter's ubiquitous UH-1 Huey series. Though it shares a type number with the somewhat-related Bell 214, the Bell 214ST is larger and of quite different appearance. Prior to the Bell 525 Relentless, it was the company's largest helicopter. The Bell 214ST emerged during the 1970s as an Iranian-financed development of the smaller and less powerful Bell 214. It was originally intended to be produced In Iran, however, following the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the sizable order that had been made by the country evaporated; nevertheless, Bell persisted with the programme, the maiden flight taking place on 21 July 1979 and type certification being secured in 1982. During the early 1980s, Bell reoriented the Bell 214ST towards civil sales. This civilian designation permitted the type's sale to Iraq in spite of an arms embargo. Bell did produce a militarised variant of the type, which was also procured by several other military operators as well. The civilian operators used the Bell 214ST in several different roles, from supporting oil exploration activities in Europe to aerial firefighting in Australia. Furthermore, the United States Navy evaluated the use of civilian-operated Bell 214STs for vertical replenishment duties. By the 2020s, McDermott Aviation had emerged as the largest civil operator of the type; in March 2025, the company announced its intention to resume production of the Bell 214ST, which had been discontinued by Bell in 1993.