Helicopter firms hover for $1b deal
A DOGFIGHT between the world's leading helicopter manufacturers will begin next month when bids are called for about $1 billion in contracts to replace the Government Flying Service's (GFS) eight Sikorsky helicopters.
About six companies have made presentations to GFS staff in the last month to enable civil servants to assess what aircraft are available.
This follows an advertisement in Flight International, the global weekly aviation magazine, that set out GFS' preliminary requirements for the new aircraft and related services.
GFS chief aircraft engineer Graeme McIntosh said that, following discussions with manufacturers, the Government's air wing had been able to revise its tender documents.
Formal bids were expected to be invited next month, he said.
The leading contenders will be Sikorsky (which supplied the existing fleet of S-76 and UH-60 Blackhawk aircraft), Bell and Boeing from the United States, Westland from Britain and Eurocopter - which includes Aerospatiale and Bolkow - which sold the mainland the helicopters used by the People's Liberation Army garrison at Sek Kong.
Other smaller manufacturers, including Kaman of the US and PZL from Poland, could also take part in the competition.
GFS plans to buy two types of helicopter to fit in with the flying wing's diverse role.
Helicopters with a wheel-type landing gear, carrying seven passengers or two stretchers, will replace the Sikorksy S-76s.
Mr McIntosh said a key requirement of these new helicopters was for them to land and take off from hospital rooftops, allowing rapid transfer of injured patients.
The S-76s, the oldest of which was bought in 1989, cannot do this and instead have to land on the ground for patients to be transferred to waiting ambulances. This has led to numerous complaints about aircraft noise, particularly during weekend and night-time operations.
Eurocopter could have the edge on this part of the deal because it has recently developed a new range of small, low-noise helicopters in a joint venture with mainland company Catic/Hamc and Singapore Technologies.
The second batch will replace the camouflaged Blackhawks, the first of which was delivered in 1993, that are used to support police operations, VIP and rescue duties.
The GFS requires aircraft configured for search and rescue operations which can carry up to 16 armed police and have an operating radius of 320 kilometres.
Mr McIntosh said sea rescue operations had been hampered because the GFS fleet could not operate beyond 208 km.
The replacement programme had been put back some months because it coincided with plans by several manufacturers to introduce new models.
'This may mean we delay the purchase programme 12 to 18 months to allow us to have the best of what is available,' Mr McIntosh said.
Once the new aircraft were ordered, deliveries should be made quickly to allow for the rapid replacement of the existing fleet because GFS did not have the facilities to operate three types of helicopter at the same time, he said.
There is a ready market for the S-76s, which can be sold to corporate or military users.
The Blackhawk helicoprters pose more of a problem because they are considered military hardware and any sale is governed by US Department of Defence guidelines.
