The Bell 407 as a light ISR & law-enforcement platform
With more than 1,600 aircraft delivered and over six million flight hours logged worldwide, the Bell 407 is one of the most trusted light single-engine helicopters in law-enforcement and utility service. The current 407GXi variant is IFR-certified, flying with Garmin G1000H glass avionics for all-weather operations. Its wider fuselage (eight inches wider than earlier light singles, with cabin windows 35% larger) was purpose-built for the visibility an airborne observation mission demands.
AIMS-ISR on the Bell 407
The Bell 407 with AIMS-ISR on board is ready to handle today’s multi-role missions. Whether installed at the front-seat tactical flight officer position or a rear-cabin operator station, AIMS-ISR powers this IFR-certified rotary platform and delivers unparalleled situational awareness by georeferencing and managing mission data from the aircraft’s equipped sensors in a single, real-time operating picture.
Sensors flown on Bell 407 law-enforcement fleets
- L3Harris WESCAM MX-10 EO/IR, a standard fit across Bell 407 law-enforcement fleets
- FLIR thermal imaging with downlink and moving-map systems, widely fielded on patrol-configured 407s
- Additional EO/IR turrets and downlink systems across the broader Bell 407 law-enforcement fleet, all manageable through AIMS-ISR’s sensor-agnostic architecture
Mission profiles
- Airborne law enforcement: vehicle pursuit, overwatch, and suspect tracking, as flown by police aviation units across North America
- Homeland security & critical infrastructure surveillance: aerial reconnaissance over high-value sites and events
- Search for missing or wanted persons: long-range EO/IR identification, day or night
- Utility & multi-role government missions: a single light, economical airframe covering a wide surveillance mandate
