MoD Helicopter Order Secures AgustaWestland Jobs

Hundreds of jobs are safe due to a Government order for Future Lynx helicopters from AgustaWestland, December 2008

The contract will see 62 new helicopters for the Army and Navy produced together with an upgrade to 12 of the existing Lynx helicopters to prepare them for battlefield sites such as Afghanistan.

The news has come as a relief to the local community. Liberal Democrat Councillor Tim Carroll, leader of South Somerset Council, said: "It's really, really good news - especially in times we have at the moment. We've lived with the uncertainty over the last year and we're just very, very pleased for the local economy of Yeovil and South Somerset that the order has been confirmed."

David Laws, Liberal Democrat MP for Yeovil, said: "That is the best possible Christmas present, not only for AgustaWestland and also the economy in Yeovil, but also the armed forces who desperately need these very important helicopters."

The procurement order was originally for 70 helicopters but has been reduced to 62: 34 for the British Army and 28 for the Royal Navy. With a common design, sensor and weapon capability, Future Lynx will be optimised for either the maritime or battlefield environments, with the versatility and flexibility to be able to be rapidly switched from one role to another. The aircraft will have a multi-role capability able to perform a range of tasks including battlefield reconnaissance, maritime surface attack and utility lift tasks.

The UK Ministry of Defence also signed a contract with AgustaWestland that will pull forward Future Lynx programme technologies to provide a rapid upgrade of 12 British Army Lynx AH Mk.9 aircraft with CTS800-4N engines to significantly improve the performance of these aircraft in hot and high operating conditions. The first four of the 12 aircraft will be delivered in late 2009 and the remaining eight will be delivered in 2010.