The police in Columbus Ohio have had approval at yesterday’s City Council meeting to order two Bell 505 helicopters, with a total allocated sum of $5,940,233

Columbus Police have been very long term operators of Hughes/MD 500/530 helicopters, and when the unit was formed back in 1972 it was with four Hughes 300s and later fleet upgrades saw a total of (aka Schwiezer 300s). The current fleet consists of four MD530Fs, which were purchased as 500Es back in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2012, and subsequently updated to 530F status by the manufacturer in a rolling program in 2015.

The acquisition of a pair of Bell 505s will see the oldest 530F disposed of, as Columbus Police have a local agreement to keep their fleet to a maximum of five. The theory behind this is that four could be available at any time, and one in maintenance. The agreement also includes flying over major roadways instead of residential neighborhoods to reduce noise pollution, as well as only using the helicopters when they are most needed.

The program to acquire the 505s has been ongoing for many months. Some shrewd negotiation means that Columbus have managed to both lock in 2024 pricing, and ensure delivery before the end of 2025. There was no mention in the Council meeting whether that date refers to operational aircraft, or an ex-factory date when the aircraft go into completion and the outfitting of suitable policing equipment

Columbus Police also have a longer term plan to replace all the 530Fs over a ten year period.

It is worth noting that Columbus Police did have plans to upgrade their fleet to Bell 407s, and indeed did acquire one in June 2020. However the aircraft was never put into service and sat in their hangar until it was sold to Orange County Sheriff in Florida in October 2023.