GKN Westland will send an evaluation team to Egypt in the first quarter of 1998 to examine grounded Sea King helicopters with the aim of bringing them back to a flyable state.
Egypt has some 30 Sea Kings, a mix of Mk47s, Mk1 and Mk2 Commandos, VIP and electronic-warfare variants. It is not known how many are not airworthy.
In the wake of the settlement of the dispute over the Arab Industrial Organization (AIO) - an abortive attempt to set up Lynx manufacture in Egypt - Westland is again involved in supporting the Egyptian fleet and is beginning to provide maintenance and spares support.
During the dispute between Westland and the AIO, maintenance for the aircraft was provided by the USA, with the Naval Air Station Pensacola carrying out the support work.
The study will determine whether it is viable and affordable to put the helicopters back into the air. The UK manufacturer is also discussing with Egypt a variety of limited upgrade options for its Sea Kings, including avionics and navigation updates.
As well as its business with Egypt, Westland also continues to harbour ambitions of selling an anti-submarine-warfare (ASW) helicopter into the region to meet Saudi Arabian requirements.
The Saudis, however, appear to have moved away from a possible purchase of the EH101 Merlin derivative from EH Industries, a Westland-Agusta joint venture.
The EH101 offer has been under consideration for several years, but the Saudis are thought to have concluded that the capabilities of the aircraft were considerably more than its requirement.
As a result, Westland has shifted its focus away from the Merlin, and is instead looking to address the ASW need with the Super Lynx 300. This variant is fitted with a digital cockpit and the LHTEC T-800 engine instead of the Rolls-Royce Gem.
Source: Flight International
