Leonardo has signed a contract with the UK Ministry of Defense worth 271 million (about 320 million) for the provision of support and training services for the fleet of 62 helicopters AW159 Wildcat used by the Army and the United Kingdom Navy. The contract was announced by Harriett Baldwin, Minister of Defense Procurement, during his visit today at the Leonardo plant in Yeovil, in the south-east of England. The execution of the five-year contract will be launched on April 1, in line with the provisions of the program called WIST (Wildcat Integrated Support and Training - Integrated Support and Training for Wildcats), of a total duration of thirty years and undertaken starting from the 2012.
The program includes the supply of spare parts and technical and safety support services, as well as training for pilots and maintenance personnel.
The contract directly supports over 500 highly qualified jobs, mainly in the south-east of England at the Yeovilton air force base, where the maintenance and training activities for Wildcat helicopters are concentrated, and at the Yeovil plant. Leonardo also contributes to the program through the Edinburgh and Luton plants with its Avionics and Space Systems division with regard to radar and self-protection systems. Among the partners and sub-suppliers there is also Thales UK for the communication and management systems of the aircraft, with maintenance personnel coming from its factories in Crawley and Morson and seconded to the Yeovilton base.
The WIST contract is based on performance criteria in its execution, encouraging Leonardo to continuously improve the supply level and to constantly reduce costs along the fleet's operational life cycle. This formula is similar to the contracts called IOS (Integrated Operational Support) already in place for the AW101 Merlin, Sea King and Apache AH Mk.1 helicopter fleets of the UK Ministry of Defense and which Leonardo is successfully executing.
The 14 December 2016 Leonardo delivered its sixty-second and final AW159 Wildcat to the UK Ministry of Defense, destined to Yeovilton as the main operational base for helicopters destined for the Navy and the Army.
In July 2016 Leonardo and the Ministry of Defense signed a strategic collaboration agreement aimed at increasing the value of existing contracts for the tax payer, such as WIST itself, the constant growth of exports and the identification and development of new technologies and capabilities . The collaboration aims at the use of these new technologies both on products already in service and on future programs, even with remote piloting.
