Government Names Winner
of Competition to Provide New Search and Rescue Service for UK
The Soteria
Consortium has been chosen to provide a harmonised 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 today.
The MOD and Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) together provide
a 24-hour military and civil helicopter SAR service for the UK SAR
Region from 12 bases around the UK. Currently this SAR 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.
Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies, said:
“I am delighted to announce that the Soteria Consortium has been
chosen as the Preferred Bidder for the Search and Rescue
Helicopter (SAR-H) project. 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 harmonised service under a single
contract providing the British taxpayer with an excellent service
for many years to come.
“The future service will benefit from modern, fast, reliable
helicopters and will continue to operate from 12 bases in order to
ensure that it provides a fully effective SAR service”.
Paul Clark, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,
Department for Transport, said:
“The new harmonised service is an excellent opportunity to build
upon the high regard that the UK SAR service is so rightly held.
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 finalisation of the contract the MOD and DfT expect to
be in a position to award the contract later this year.
Notes to Editors:
1. Project Team. The SAR-H project is managed by the joint MOD
and MCA SAR-H Project Team within Defence Equipment and Support
(DE&S) at MOD Abbey Wood, Bristol.
2. Service Management and Tasking. The service will continue to
be managed by the MOD and MCA and tasking will continue to be
allocated by the Aeronautical Rescue and Co-Ordination Centre
located at RAF Kinloss.
3. Soteria Consortium. This Consortium is made up of CHC, Thales,
Sikorsky and the Royal Bank of Scotland, and has chosen the
Sikorsky S92A as its operational helicopter.
4. Sikorsky S92 Helicopter. The S92A is providing reliable
service internationally in the oil and gas industry and Search and
Rescue with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) on Shetland
and the Isle of Lewis in Northern Scotland. The helicopter has a
cruising speed of 145 knots, with a radius of operation in excess
of 260 nautical miles. In comparison with the current SAR Sea King
helicopters, the new aircraft is approximately 30 per cent faster
and has approximately 70 nautical miles greater radius of
operation. The cabin that is over 1.7 metres high, has a large
door on the starboard side and a ramp at the rear which will allow
easy access for casualties and hospital care equipment such as
incubators. The SAR-H S92A has a fully equipped purpose built
paramedic station including piped mains oxygen and an electrical
power circuit within the cabin that allows immediate life-saving
care to be administered day and night.
Not including the four aircrew, the S92 can carry 10 passengers
seated in fully crashworthy seating and one stretcher or six +
seated and two on stretchers in the SAR role. The helicopter has a
twin, side by side high speed winch installation which increases
the efficiency and safety of rescuing people from places of
danger, both winches are identical and rescue is possible using either.
5. Transition. The new service will be phased in progressively
taking over site by site, anticipated to start in 2012. The four
MCA bases will transition to the new service first and will be
followed by the eight MOD bases. The detailed timetable will be
finalised as part of concluding the contract.
6. Flexibility. The UK will benefit from a single fleet of modern
helicopters, some 30 per cent faster than the current Sea Kings.
Moreover, unlike today, the entire fleet will be able to attend
low level overland night-time incidents which require pilots to
use Night Vision Goggles. All helicopters will have Forward
Looking Infra-Red equipment which enables the crew to search the
terrain, over sea or land, in low light conditions.
7. Livery. A common helicopter design has been selected for the
future SAR-H service. The single black and orange livery will:
maximise visibility; signal that this is an emergency service;
represent the MOD and MCA by including the RAF, RN and MCA
insignia on all helicopters and maximise flexibility by being a
single colour scheme.
For further information contact:
Squadron Leader Al Green, MoD Press Office: 0207 2183256
Tim
Lewis, MoD Defence Equipment and Support Press Office: 0117 913
0526
Mark Clark, Maritime Coastguard Agency Press Office:
02380 329 401 or 07711 002678
Carl Taylor, Soteria: 02380
302717
Contacts:
Ministry of Defence
NDS.MOD@coi.gsi.gov.uk