(Mar. 27th) – AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, has been selected by Bristow Group Inc. – which has been awarded the contract by the UK Department for Transport – to provide AW189 helicopters for Search & Rescue (SAR) services to the UK. The programme for AgustaWestland’s part is valued about EUR 275 million and includes the supply of 11 AW189 SAR variant and related training, maintenance and support services. Activities will start progressively between 2015 and 2017 and will last ten years. The AW189 is a new generation 8 ton class twin engine helicopter designed to meet the latest and future requirement for SAR and offshore operations in the most demanding conditions. It is the latest SAR-dedicated helicopter developed by AgustaWestland and builds on the Company’s heritage and expertise in search and rescue both in the UK and abroad. With 5 aircraft already in flight and over 1100 flight hours logged, the AW189 is on time to obtain certification in the second half of 2013. Contracts for over 70 AW189s have been signed so far by customers worldwide. Bristow Group Inc. is a long-standing customer of AgustaWestland with both AW189 and AW139 already in its fleet or on order. (red)
