Bell CEO: Dropping 'Helicopter' from name 'allows us the freedom to be whatever we want to be'

Bell Helicopter opted to change its name simply to Bell so that it wouldn't be confined to helicopters, the company's chief executive said today.

Speaking at a Defense One event, Mitch Snyder said the company's history includes aircraft and technology that weren't helicopters.

"Why keep that modifier on there and confine us to the helicopter? Because what we're doing is we're creating vertical experiences," he said. Now, "we're Bell, and that allows us the freedom to be whatever we want to be.”

Meanwhile, Snyder also said he challenged the company to produce its V-280 Valor aircraft at less than half the price of a V-22.

The aircraft uses fixed engines, which he said bolsters reliability and maintainability.

"We felt like we could achieve that much better with fixed engines in there and just rotate the gear boxes," Snyder said.