It's Goodbye Rescue Sea Kings

RAF and Royal Navy search and rescue helicopters are set to be replaced by a fleet of aircraft run by a private consortium over the next decade, the Ministry of Defence announced yesterday.


Starting from 2012, Sikorsky helicopters run by the Soteria Consortium will be gradually phased in to replace the existing Sea Kings with the crews being a mixture of military aircrew and civillians ' trained to the same high standards'.

The new service will still be run from 12 bases to give coverage right across the UK and the MOD is confident that the new Sikorsky S92 helicopters currently used successfuly in the oil and gas industry and ith the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) on Shetland and the Isle of Lewis in Northern Scotland will be well up to the job.

The S92 is 30% faster than the Sea King and has an extended range. It can carry six seated passengers and two on stretchers in search and rescue mode. They also have better low level overland night-time capabilities.

Last but not least, it'll be goodbye to the familiar yellow livery and hello to a black and orange design which will 'maximise visibility [and] signal that this is an emergency service'.

The contract is set to be finalised and awarded later this year. The MOD emphasises that: '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'.

For more details see the full press release at nds.coi.gov.uk.