TRU Simulation’s Bell 525 Flight Simulator Receives FAA Interim Level C Qualification

COLOGNE, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 17, 2025--

TRU Simulation + Training Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, and an affiliate of Textron Aviation Inc. and Bell Textron Inc. today announced its Bell 525 Full Flight Simulator (FFS) located at the Bell Training Academy received Interim Level C qualification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Bell Textron Inc. has designed and will manufacture the Bell 525 helicopter. By achieving this milestone, pilots can earn more flight hours on the Bell 525 platform ahead of the rotorcraft’s expected FAA type certification.

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“The accuracy and realism of our Flight Simulation Devices play a crucial role in ensuring that pilots can effectively translate their training into real-world scenarios,” said Jerry Messaris, vice president and general manager, TRU Simulation. “This qualification achievement ensures pilots can practice their skills in a controlled environment as the 525 program continues to progress.”

The simulator is outfitted with high-fidelity visual systems, realistic cockpit environments and advanced motion platforms, all of which combine to create a training experience that closely mirrors actual flight conditions. Designed to provide pilots with an immersive and highly realistic training experience, it accurately replicates the performance and handling characteristics of Bell's 525 helicopters. Utilizing cutting-edge technology, TRU Simulation ensures that pilots can sharpen their skills and enhance their readiness for real-world operations.

About TRU Simulation

TRU Simulation + Training Inc., a Textron Inc. company and an affiliate of Textron Aviation Inc. and Bell Textron Inc. is a leading provider of high-fidelity training devices and full-motion simulators for the aviation industry. With a strong commitment to excellence and innovation, TRU Simulation has been at the forefront of flight simulation technology for over a decade. Our customized simulator solutions empower pilots to navigate the skies confidently, while our state-of-the-art technology ensures safe and realistic training experiences. For more information, visit www.TRUSimulation.com.

About Bell

Thinking above and beyond is what we do. For more than 80 years, we’ve been reimagining the experience of flight – and where it can take us.

We are pioneers. We were the first to break the sound barrier and to certify a commercial helicopter. We were aboard NASA’s first lunar mission and brought advanced tiltrotor systems to market. Today, we’re defining the future of on-demand mobility.

Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas – as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., – we have strategic locations around the globe. And with nearly one quarter of our workforce having served, helping our military achieve their missions is a passion of ours.

Above all, our breakthrough innovations deliver exceptional experiences to our customers. Efficiently. Reliably. And always, with safety at the forefront.

About Textron Inc.

Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell, Cessna, Beechcraft, Pipistrel, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, and Textron Systems. For more information, visit: www.textron.com.

Certain statements in this press release may project revenues or describe strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; these forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update them. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

TRU Simulation’s Bell 525 Flight Simulator receives FAA Interim Level C qualification

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia unleashed a major missile and drone barrage on Ukraine overnight into Saturday, after U.S. and Ukrainian officials said they’ll meet Saturday for a third day of talks aimed at ending the nearly 4-year-old war.

Russia used 653 drones and 51 missiles in the wide-reaching overnight attack on Ukraine, which triggered air raid alerts across the country and came as Ukraine marked Armed Forces Day, the country’s air force said Saturday morning.

Ukrainian forces shot down and neutralized 585 drones and 30 missiles, the air force said, adding that 29 locations were struck.

At least eight people were wounded in the attacks, Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko said.

Among these, at least three people were wounded in the Kyiv region, according to local officials. Drone sightings were reported as far west as Ukraine’s Lviv region.

Russia carried out a “massive missile-drone attack” on power stations and other energy infrastructure in several Ukrainian regions, Ukraine’s national energy operator, Ukrenergo, wrote on Telegram.

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant temporarily lost all off-site power overnight, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Saturday, citing its Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi.

The plant is in an area that has been under Russian control since early in Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and is not in service, but it needs reliable power to cool its six shutdown reactors and spent fuel, to avoid any catastrophic nuclear incidents.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that energy facilities were the main targets of the attacks, also noting that a drone strike had “burned down” the train station in the city of Fastiv, located in the Kyiv region.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said its air defenses had shot down 116 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight into Saturday.

Russian Telegram news channel Astra said Ukraine struck Russia’s Ryazan Oil Refinery, sharing footage appearing to show a fire breaking out and plumes of smoke rising above the refinery. The Associated Press could not independently verify the video.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces later said Ukrainian forces had struck the refinery. Ryazan regional Gov. Pavel Malkov said a residential building had been damaged in a drone attack and that drone debris had fallen on the grounds of an “industrial facility,” but did not mention the refinery.

Months of Ukrainian long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries have aimed to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue the war. Meanwhile, Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia is trying to cripple the Ukrainian power grid and deny civilians access to heat, light and running water for a fourth consecutive winter, in what Ukrainian officials call “weaponizing” the cold.

The latest round of attacks came as U.S. President Donald Trump’s advisers and Ukrainian officials said they’ll meet for a third day of talks on Saturday, after making progress on finding agreement on a security framework for postwar Ukraine.

Following Friday’s talks, the two sides also offered the sober assessment that any “real progress toward any agreement” ultimately will depend “on Russia’s readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace.”

The statement from U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner as well as Ukrainian negotiators Rustem Umerov and Andriy Hnatov came after they met for a second day in Florida on Friday. They offered only broad brushstrokes about the progress they say has been made as Trump pushes Kyiv and Moscow to agree to a U.S.-mediated proposal to end nearly four years of war. Zelenskyy wrote on X on Saturday that he had been given an update over the phone from Florida.

Separately, officials in London said the leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Germany would participate in a meeting with Zelenskyy in London on Monday.a

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Workers and military inspect Ukrainian Fire Point's Flamingo missiles during handover to the military in an undisclosed location in Ukraine Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)