Minister for
Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare today
announced the signing of a $124.8 million contract for maintenance and
engineering support for the Black Hawk and Seahawk fleet of helicopters.
The Black
Hawk multi-role helicopters have been the mainstay of the Australian Defence
Force’s troop lift helicopter capability since 1987.
Black Hawks
can also carry out aerial reconnaissance, observation, direction of artillery
fire, casualty evacuation and aerial fire support. Black Hawks also played a vital role in
search and rescue and the provision of disaster relief support during the 2011
natural disasters in Australia.
The Seahawk
have been a key element of Australia’s anti-submarine warfare capability since
1988.
Seahawks can
deploy from Navy frigates and amphibious ships.
In addition to anti-submarine warfare, Seahawks perform a wide range of
roles at sea, including anti-surface warfare, search and rescue, supply and
replenishment and medical evacuation.
“Black Hawk
and Seahawk helicopters have been a key part of the Australian Defence Force
for the last 25 years,” Mr Smith said.
“They have
supported our troops on operations as well as providing important disaster
relief support here in Australia.”
“For every
hour in the sky, there are a lot more hours of repair and maintenance needed on
the ground,” Mr Clare said.
“That’s why
signing this contract is so important. The highly skilled workers at Sikorsky
Helitech play an important role in keeping our helicopters flying.”
The four
year contract with Sikorsky Helitech is for the provision of maintenance and
engineering services in support of the Black Hawk and Seahawk fleets, with
options to extend for a further six years.
(Aus DoD)
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