Company Operates SAR Contracts Worldwide

The Department for Transport in the United Kingdom has awarded  Bristow Helicopters Limited  a new contract to provide civilian Search and Rescue (SAR) services for all of the UK. Bristow helicopters is the UK affiliate of The Bristow Group who announced the contract award Tuesday in a news release.

Under the terms of this contract, Bristow Helicopters will provide 11 Sikorsky S-92 and 11 AgustaWestland AW189 helicopters that will be located at ten bases across the UK.  Each SAR base will operate either two S-92s or two AW189s. In addition to the ten bases with 20 aircraft, there will be two fully SAR-equipped training aircraft that can be deployed to any base as needed. The SAR services contract has a phased-in transition period beginning in April 2015 and continuing to July 2017 and a contract length of approximately ten years. It is expected that the contract will generate employment opportunities in the UK workforce for facilities, aircraft manufacture and operations.

William E. Chiles, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are honored that our affiliate Bristow Helicopters was selected by The Department for Transport to provide this vital service for the people of the United Kingdom. This award will employ 22 of the world's most technologically advanced and safest helicopters which will dramatically improve the capability to save lives and significantly reduce the UK Government's costs for the next decade. It is planned that some of the military personnel currently involved in SAR in the UK will join Bristow Helicopters to work under this contract, and we look forward to welcoming them into the Bristow family."

The total capital requirement for this project is expected to be approximately $1 billion, much of which is dedicated to the acquisition of 22  SAR-equipped S-92 and AW189 helicopters. The company says it expects to earn approximately $2.5-billion over the term of the contract.

FMI: www.bristowgroup.com