Army officials issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the replacement aircraft as the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) on 9 December 2004.

[4] The Army's concept would use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology, with the goal of an operational unit of 30 helicopters and eight trainers ready by September 2008.

[10] The contract called for the development of prototypes and the delivery of preproduction aircraft to the Army for the Limited User Test (LUT), with the first unit equipped by the end of September 2008.

[5] On 21 February 2007, during its first flight, prototype #4 (s/n 53906/N445HR) suffered a loss of engine power, due to fuel starvation, and made an autorotational landing at a nearby golf course.

[15][16][17] A month later, on 22 March 2007, the Army issued a "Stop Work" notice, giving Bell 30 days to present a plan to get the ARH program back on track.

[23] On 16 October 2008, the Army's Acquisition Executive Office for Aviation directed that the ARH contract be terminated completely for the convenience of the government.

[25] Although the ARH-70 was not procured by the US, the Iraqi Air Force bought Bell 407 armed scouts in a similar configuration as the ARH starting in 2009.