The government has announced that the UK is to have a new fleet of faster and more modern search and rescue helicopters.
Search and rescue operations will be provided by contracted civilian crews, instead of the joint service provided by the Ministry of Defence (operating a fleet of Sea King helicopters from eight military bases) and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (four civilian bases).
The government has said that this will allow the Armed Forces to focus their activity on front-line operations and enable the MoD to meet its previously announced intention to retire its fleet of Sea Kings by March 2016.
The procurement process for the contract was started this week, and the contract will last around 10 years. Under these plans, search and rescue operations at RAF Boulmer would end in 2015 and at Portland when the MCA contract expires during 2017.
Shipping Minister Mike Penning said: “The current arrangements have served us well for decades, and we are grateful to the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force for their great dedication in helping deliver an exemplary search and rescue service over the years. But we cannot ignore the fact that, after their sterling service to our country, the Sea Kings are nearing the end of their life and it is time to look to the future. Commercial operations are nothing new in this area - the MCA's search and rescue functions have been provided on a contract basis for almost 30 years - and this system has served us well. This new, long-term contract will see the UK served by some of the most modern, well-equipped helicopters in the world.”
This announcement by the Department for Transport follows the cancellation of a previous search and rescue helicopter procurement in February this year.
The government expects to award this new contract in early 2013 to give the future service provider time to mobilise the new capability.
