GKN Westland and the UK's Defence Helicopter Support Agency have signed a 10-year partnership agreement for the repair and overhaul of the UK Ministry of Defence's entire Westland Lynx and Sea King naval helicopter fleet. The deal is likely to cover the Merlin helicopter when it comes into service in 1999.
The deal will tie GKN Westland as prime contractor with the Naval Aircraft Repair Organisation (NARO) at RNAS Lee-on-Solent . NARO will be subcontracted for the supply of resources to undertake work on fixed-price contracts.
The partnership does not at present cover the British Army's WAH-64 Apache helicopters.
The scheme is expected to reduce maintenance costs by about 15-20% by sharing best working practices, rationalising stock inventory and increasing the use of information technology for process control.
Source: Flight International
