GKN WESTLAND ROLLED OUT THE first production EH Industries EH101 Merlin for the UK Royal Navy on 6 March. Forty-four helicopters are on order to meet the RN's anti-submarine-warfare requirement. The aircraft, referred to as RN01, is not fitted with the mission-systems suite. This will be fitted to RN02 within six months. The first of the RN's Merlins is due to be begin operational-performance acceptance trials in 1998. The contract for Italy's order for 16 naval EH101s, meanwhile, is being scrutinised by the Corte dei Conti (similar to the US General Accounting Office), which has asked for, and been supplied with, additional contract information. It is hoped that it will register the contract by the end of March.
Source: Flight International