Prince William search and rescue helicopter teams privatised as contract is handed to U.S. in £1.6bn deal
 |
Sell-off: Rescue helicopter services, such as those
flown by Prince William, will now be operated by a private American company |
By BEN SPENCER and HUGO GYE
A U.S. firm was today handed the contract for Britain’s helicopter search and rescue operations.
The
award of the £1.6billion contract to Texas-based Bristow Group marks
the end of 70 years of search and rescue operations by the Royal Navy,
the RAF and the Maritime & Coastguard Agency.
Armed forces pilots such as
Prince William, who works at the RAF search and rescue base on Anglesey,
will be replaced by civilian contractors over the next few years.
The deal, which runs from 2015
to 2026, will also mean the end of the much-loved Sea King helicopter,
famous for its yellow RAF or red Navy coat.
As well as its emergency role,
the Sea King was used in a combat capacity during the Falklands
conflict. Bristow is planning to replace it with the faster Sikorsky
S-92 and Somerset-built AgustaWestland 189.
The Government has been trying
to offload the rescue operation in a time of cost-cutting at home and
extensive military operations abroad.
The deal means a reduction from
12 to ten search and rescue bases, with an end to operations at RAF
Boulmer in Northumberland and Portland coastguard centre in Dorset. The
Government believes the ten surviving bases will be able to cover much
larger areas with faster helicopters.
Mercy mission: Prince William leaves a Sea King helicopter, which will be replaced as part of the plans
Bristow,
the Texan firm that won the contract, will use the Sikorsky S-92
helicopter, which it already uses to transport offshore oil workers in
the UK
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