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Sea King Mk.4 Commando
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Agusta-Westland of Cascina Costa di Samarate (near Varese, Italy) got a 5-year, 438 million euro order to service about 100 British Royal Air Force and Royal Navy Sea King helicopters. The figure works out to over EUR 750,000 per helicopter per year. Agusta-Westland will be the prime contractor in the Skios (Sea King Integrated Operational Support) program with the British defense ministry, while BAE systems, Avionics and Thales UK will be sub-contractors.

This program to support Sea King helicopters is part of the Partnering and Business Transformation Agreement, a long-term partnership deal between British defense ministry and Agusta Westland that was announced in March. As part of this process, Agusta-Westland created a consortium with BAE Systems and Thales UK.

Sea Kings are used in a variety of roles by the Royal Navy and RAF, from the transport of marines, to search & rescue, Airborne Early Warning, reinforcements and rapid interventions. They have been updated with some frequency, and are projected to remain in service until 2018. Many will be replaced by Augusta-Westland’s Merlin helicopter, a variant of the EH101 that recently won the American “Marine One” Presidential helicopter competition.

Additional Readings & Sources

• AGI Online: Deal For RAF And RN Helicopters Servicing

• Naval-Technology.com: Sea King – ASW / Search And Rescue Helicopter, United Kingdom

• Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm: Merlin ASW Helicopter