11-Oct-2021
As a submission deadline passed on Friday 8th October, Airbus Helicopters issued the following statement to HeliHub.com regarding their interest in the UK SAR 2G contest
Airbus Helicopters is very disappointed to conclude that it was not in the best interests of the company to submit an offer in respect of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency’s Second Generation UK Search and Rescue competition. Accordingly it has informed the MCA that it no longer intends to submit a formal offer. Airbus Helicopters will continue to offer its helicopters and associated support services to any interested remaining bidder.
Given the published list of bidders, this refers to the Airbus/Draken partnership which the manufacturer announced in March 2021, and follows the withdrawal of Serco, which we confirmed in July 2021.
This leaves the following bidders, noting that “EEA Helicopter Operations BV” are better known in the industry as CHC.
Lot 1: Rotary, shorter endurance with standard carriage capacity for short range rescue work
Lot 2: Rotary; High endurance with larger carriage capacity for long range/multiple casualty rescues
Lot 3: Fixed-wing, manned and potentially unmanned for rapid search, surveillance and pollution identification
Lot 4: A combined solution that contains all of the requirements for Lots 1, 2 and 3 but provided by one supplier/consortium, enabling the potential cost saving benefits of such an arrangement to be articulated in a single bid.
