Would Serve Expanding Mideast Market

Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. and Gulf Helicopters of Doha, Qatar signed a Memorandum of Understanding Tuesday to explore establishing an Aviation Center of Excellence in the Middle East region.

Representatives with Sikorsky tell ANN the proposed Aviation Center of Excellence would provide maintenance support, spares, training and design/development services to Sikorsky, Gulf and other commercial and governmental aircraft owners and operators in the Middle East region. This would include the establishment of a fleet management operations center to provide logistical support as well as local inventory of Sikorsky and other aircraft manufacturer's spare parts.

"The Middle East has become a significant region for the S-92 and S-76 helicopters and Sikorsky is excited about the potential for joint efforts with Gulf Helicopter as we explore this Aviation Center of Excellence," said Sikorsky President Jeffrey Pino. "We look forward to the opportunities this MOU creates for future cooperation."

In addition to the MOU signing, Sikorsky and Gulf Helicopter signed a contract for a second of two S-92 VVIP aircraft.

The first S-92 helicopter entered service in the Gulf region in 2006. Prior to the Qatar contract, Turkey, Turkmenistan and the Republic of Korea selected the S-92 for head-of-state service.

Gulf Helicopters Co. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qatar Petroleum, a company fully owned by the government of the State of Qatar.

FMI: www.sikorsky.com, www.gulfhelicopters.com