BRITAIN’s search-and-rescue helicopter service — which employs Prince
William — is being taken over by an American company, the government
announced today.
The award of the £1.6billion deal to Bristow Helicopters ends 70 years of a service run by RAF and Royal Navy squadrons.
It also spells the end of the use of the iconic Sea King choppers — flown by the Duke of Cambridge — in search-and-rescue work from 2016.
The future of current service air and ground crews — including William — is uncertain. Some are expected to apply to join the new private service but there are fears jobs could be lost.
The 30-year-old prince, the future Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, is a Flight Lieutenant based at RAF Valley on Anglesey in North Wales, from where he commands missions to help stranded climbers and stricken vessels in the area.
The award of the £1.6billion deal to Bristow Helicopters ends 70 years of a service run by RAF and Royal Navy squadrons.
It also spells the end of the use of the iconic Sea King choppers — flown by the Duke of Cambridge — in search-and-rescue work from 2016.
The future of current service air and ground crews — including William — is uncertain. Some are expected to apply to join the new private service but there are fears jobs could be lost.
The 30-year-old prince, the future Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, is a Flight Lieutenant based at RAF Valley on Anglesey in North Wales, from where he commands missions to help stranded climbers and stricken vessels in the area.
