Air Corps to get six new helicopters

[Frank]

Air Corps to get six new helicopters
13/08/2004 - 18:02:40

The Department of Defence is to buy six new helicopters for the Air Corps in a revival of a deal which was abandoned two years ago, it emerged tonight.

A contract for four helicopters capable of carrying eight troops, as well as two lighter military helicopters, will be signed before the end of the year.

The deal, believed to be worth between €30m and €50m, was abandoned in 2002 due to budget cutbacks at the Department of Defence.

At the time, Defence Minister Michael Smith had begun final negotiations on the purchase of five helicopters with the US company Sikorksy, which had promised to provide €125m of work to safeguard jobs in the Dublin maintenance company FLS Aerospace.

Another rival bidder, Eurocopter, which had been recommended by the Department of Defence’s expert group, had begun a legal challenge in the High Court to prevent the contract being awarded.

Now both Sikorsky and Eurocopter, along with the Anglo-Italian Augusta Westland company, have sent in tenders for the new contract which is for six helicopters, with an option for two more.

The Air Corps currently has 13 helicopters, including Alouette models which are up to 40 years old.

Some of the helicopters may be sold off when the new models come into service next year.

A Department of Defence spokesman said:

“The Alouette helicopters are great because they go forever. But there’s a lot of downtime on the ground to keep them in the air. The new modern helicopters have a lot less downtime – maintenance costs money, so they’ll be cheaper to run.”

The contract will be awarded before the end of the year and the Department of Defence expects the first of the new helicopters to come into service next year.
---------------------------------

http://breaking.examiner.ie/2004/08/13/story161647.html