Eurocopter gets personnel recovery deal for German army CH-53s
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By Craig Hoyle
Germany's BWB procurement agency has awarded Eurocopter a contract to upgrade 26 Sikorsky CH-53 transport helicopters for the German army.
Signed at the Paris air show on 18 June, the deal will see the aircraft equipped to undertake personnel recovery tasks. Prime contractor Eurocopter Deutschland says the deal is worth €24.9 million ($34.9 million), "with a large part going to the medium-sized German equipment industry".
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One prototype aircraft will be prepared, with a further 25 CH-53GE/GS transports to be modified for delivery between early next year and 2011. Each helicopter will gain a forward-looking infrared sensor, personnel locator system, new communications equipment and a rear tactical workstation as part of the upgrade.
"This project will quickly meet the Bundeswehr's need for a wider CH-53 deployment capability for national and international missions," says Eurocopter chief executive Lutz Bertling.
Eurocopter has previously received contracts to sustain operations of 82 CH-53s for the German army, and to conduct a wider mid-life upgrade to 40 of these.
