Thu, Feb 11, 2010
Military Aircrews Will Work Alongside Civilians In SAR
Missions
The Soteria Consortium has been chosen to provide a
"harmonized" Search and Rescue Helicopter (SAR-H) service for the
UK well into the 21st century, the Ministry of Defence and the
Department for Transport announced Wednesday.
The MOD and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) together
currently provide a 24-hour military and civil helicopter SAR
service for the UK SAR region from 12 bases around the UK. This
Search and Rescue helicopter service is provided by the Royal Air
Force and Royal Navy Sea Kings and a civilian helicopter service
under contract to the MCA.
This capability will be replaced over the next decade through a
single contract placed with Soteria that will retain a proportion
of military aircrew working alongside civilian aircrew trained to
the same high standards. The service will continue to be managed
jointly by the MOD and the MCA.
"I am delighted to announce that the Soteria Consortium has been
chosen as the Preferred Bidder for the Search and Rescue Helicopter
project," said Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin
Davies. "The new service, which will begin with a phased
introduction which is anticipated to begin in 2012, will bring
together the current Search and Rescue helicopter provision into
one highly effective and harmonized service under a single
contract, providing the British taxpayer with an excellent service
for many years to come.
"The new harmonised service is an excellent opportunity to build
upon the high regard that the UK SAR service is so rightly held
in," said Paul Clark, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
for Transport. "The Maritime and Coastguard Agency manage a SAR
service from their four bases that has already been successfully
delivered by a contractor for over 20 years and the new service
will build on this proven track record."
Following finalization of the contract, the MOD and the
Department for Transport expect to be in a position to award the
contract later this year.
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