Romania to upgade British SA-330 Puma's

Britain Signs Deal to Upgrade Puma Fleet
By andrew chuter
Published: 29 Sep 2009 07:56 Print | Email

LONDON - Britain's Ministry of Defence has signed a deal with Eurocopter UK to extend the life of up to 30 Pumas operated by the Joint Helicopter Command. The contract is valued at around 300 million pounds ($476 million) and includes new engines, avionics and communications equipment.

The announcement comes days after the MoD announced a 408 million-pound program to upgrade its entire fleet of Boeing-built Chinook medium-lift helicopters with more powerful engines and avionics.

Related TopicsEurope
Air Warfare
The Labour administration here has come under sustained criticism for providing insufficient helicopter resources for British troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. Over the last couple of years its response has included the purchase of more AgustaWestland Merlin helicopters and the update of Lynx and Sea King rotorcraft destined for operations in Afghanistan.

The deal with Eurocopter will see 28 Pumas updated with an option for a further two airframes to be included in the program. The work will extend the out of service date of the modified rotorcraft from 2012 to 2022. By that time it is hoped the proposed Future Medium Helicopter program will have started feeding new machines into service with the Joint Helicopter Command.

Some 34 Pumas are currently capable of being deployed, although they are not at theatre entry standards for use in Afghanistan. Aircraft from the 34 not modified will eventually be used for spares. The remainder of the fleet's 43 helicopters are being scrapped, said a ministry spokesman.

Deliveries are due to start in 2011 with the first 14 helicopters due to enter service by the end of 2012. Aircraft modification is being undertaken in Romania. The MoD spokesman said the upgrade work being done by Eurocopter's Romanian subsidiary represented 10 percent of the contract value.

The largest single slice of the work, about 60 percent by value, goes to France. Much of that results from a 45 million-pound deal with Turbomeca for new engines.

Defence procurement minister Quentin Davis said the upgrades would allow the Puma "to meet the requirements of battlefield commanders to transport troops in the hottest and most demanding conditions that we encounter in Afghanistan. The upgrades amount to a significant capability enhancement for the aircraft."

Article from Defense News.com

This post has been edited by Stephen Dabapuscu on September 30, 2009 04:01 pm

This is a very important deal for both IAR and Romania! We need to save what is left of are aviation industry!

This post has been edited by Stephen Dabapuscu on September 29, 2009 10:42 pm

Why is it so special? The engines will be fitted in France, the special avionics and communication equipment in Britain. It seems the minor tin work will probably be done in Romania.

No, all the work will be done at IAR Brasov, even if various components (engines included) come from other countries. Check the article, it says:

Basically it's the same upgrade as done recently on UAE Pumas, resulting in the IAR-330SM version: Makila engines, glass cockpit as in the Puma SOCAT/Naval/M, chaff and flares, state of the art nav-com, etc...

Definitely good news for IAR Brasov, which is far more capable than doing minor tin work. But I guess trashing our own country is trendy nowdays....

Stephen,

Again please mention the source of the article. thankyou.

Victor,

Once again sorry, hopefully my edit corrects my omission.
Thank

Basically it's the same upgrade as done recently on UAE Pumas, resulting in the IAR-330SM version: Makila engines, glass cockpit as in the Puma SOCAT/Naval/M, chaff and flares, state of the art nav-com, etc...

Definitely good news for IAR Brasov, which is far more capable than doing minor tin work. But I guess trashing our own country is trendy nowdays....

Most of the work will be done here (not all) but it will only represent 10% of the contract value, meaning it's probably labor intensive but low-skill work:

http://www.aeroclix.com/2009/07/25/eurocop...-british-pumas/

But of course it's better than nothing. From this point of view and the context of the crisis, I agree it's good news for the people working there.

This post has been edited by Imperialist on September 30, 2009 05:12 pm