At a ceremony held in London on 18th July, AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, and Bristow Group signed a contract for 11 AW189 Search & Rescue (SAR) helicopters that will be used to deliver SAR services in and around the UK. The contract was signed by Mike Imlach, Director of European Operations, Bristow Group and Geoff Hoon, Managing Director International Business, AgustaWestland, in the presence of Patrick McLoughlin MP, Secretary of State for Transport. In addition to the aircraft, AgustaWestland will provide related training, maintenance and support services. The 11 AW189s will be built at AgustaWestland’s Yeovil facility and operated by Bristow in the UK, with a phased introduction to service between 2015 and 2017. The overall programme value to AgustaWestland, which was announced in March 2013, is in excess of €275 million. Bristow Helicopters Ltd. was awarded a contract by the UK Department for Transport in March 2013 to provide SAR services to the UK for 10 years and selected the AW189 SAR variant as one of the central platforms for the UK SAR programme.

Patrick McLoughlin MP, Secretary of State for Transport, said “This deal will not only ensure that the UK is served by a new generation of state-of-the-art search and rescue helicopters but will also provide a welcome boost to Britain’s world-class aerospace industry. This is good news for those who rely on our search and rescue helicopters and good news for British manufacturing.” Daniele Romiti, Chief Executive Officer, AgustaWestland commented “We are delighted to sign this contract today with Bristow who has a long and proud history of providing life saving SAR services. The selection of the AW189 for this prestigious SAR contract, after extensive evaluations of competing types, confirms that the aircraft is ideally suited to conduct this demanding role and we are confident that this success will lead to further success for the AW189 in the SAR role around the world.” Mike Imlach, Director of European Operations, Bristow Group, added Bristow Helicopters Limited is excited to be working in partnership with AgustaWestland on the development and supply of the new technology AW189 to the UK Government.  The aircraft has great potential and will be a tremendous addition to the Bristow Group Search and Rescue aircraft fleet and the fact that it will be assembled in Yeovil  will help the UK economy further.”