Army To Use Robinson R66 For Its New Helicopter Pilot Training Concept

- The Army just handed M1 Support Services a potential $10-billion, 26-year contract to run Flight School Next at Fort Rucker, and the winner is — drumroll — the Robinson R66, a five-seat civilian light helicopter powered by a Rolls-Royce RR300 turboshaft. Bell's Model 505 lost. Victory is mine! The R66 beat the Lakota's glass-cockpit automation crutch by going deliberately primitive: simpler controls, Garmin digital avionics that actually teach situational awareness instead of babysitting the meat wallet through every maneuver. Course of action — action: 800 to 1,500 pilots per year, COCO model, M1 owns the aircraft, instructors, simulators, and maintenance while the Army keeps training standards. And here's the autonomous hook — Robinson's uncrewed Turbinetruck variant already snagged a Marine Corps cargo resupply contract this year. The same airframe family now trains human pilots AND flies