US firm Bristow chosen to run SAR helicopters

The Bristow Group, a company based in Texas, has been chosen to run the UK’s helicopter search and rescue service from 2015. The Department of Transport has confirmed that the US firm has been awarded the 10 year contract, worth £1.6bn, to take over the search and rescue function operated by the RAF and Royal Navy for the last 70 years.

The ageing Sea King helicopters will be replaced by 22 modern Sikorsky S-92s and Agusta Westland 189s which will operate out of 10 locations around the UK with claims that the new service will reduce the time taken to reach incidents by around 20%.

The announcement brings to an end a long and incident-prone tendering process which started in November 2011.

Transport Minister, Patrick McLoughlin said: “Our search and rescue helicopter service plays a crucial role, saving lives and providing assistance to people in distress on both land and on sea. With 24 years of experience providing search and rescue helicopter services in the UK, the public can have great confidence in Bristow and their ability to deliver a first class service with state-of-the-art helicopters.”