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Merlin
Leonardo Helicopters has secured a £165 million ($213.1 million) two-year extension to support the UK’s EH101 Merlin rotorcraft fleet.
The Integrated Merlin Operational Support (IMOS) provides depth maintenance, spares supply, aircrew and maintainer training for the UK’s 54 Merlin helicopters.
The two-year extension, announced April 1, is a transition step toward a new support model to be implemented later this decade, now that the aircraft are due to remain in service through the 2040s.
The 54 aircraft include 30 Mk.2 anti-submarine aircraft and the 24 Mk.4/4A amphibious assault and battlefield transport helicopters.
Leonardo is the prime contractor for IMOS, with Lockheed Martin and SERCO appointed as key subcontractors.
“Working closely with the Ministry of Defense and Royal Navy, we’re keeping the Merlin fleet supported and available, so it’s ready to fly whenever and wherever it’s called upon,” said Nigel Colman, managing director for Leonardo Helicopters UK.
“At the same time, we’re looking toward how Merlin will be supported in the years to come under the Rotary Wing Enterprise (RWE) agreement, which will transform how support will be delivered across the whole UK rotary fleet.”
Work on the helicopters is done at the Merlin Depth Maintenance Facility at Culdrose in Cornwall and facilities at Yeovil and Yeovilton, Somerset.
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