Bell did perform sling load demos in 2020/2021.
https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-n...es-sling-loads
https://aviationweek.com/shownews/fa...ur%20in%202021.
I just haven't seen the max weight they hauled.
If we just consider Defiant, they did achieve a max level flight speed of 247 knots against the original target of 250 knots, which is pretty impressive. As Defiant achieved a lift of 5300 lbs, that is underwhelming, considering the requirement of 10000 lbs.