NEW NAVY TRAINING HELICOPTER

An Italian helicopter company will provide the Navy with 32 new training helicopters to be based at Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Milton. The Leonardo company has been awarded a 176 million-dollar contract to provide the Navy with the new helicopters over the next four years. That number could be increased to 130, increasing the value of the contract to 648 million-dollars. The new helicopters would replace the aging fleet of Bell Jet Rangers, which have been in use for more than 35 years. They will be built by AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation in Pennsylvania, which is owned by Leonardo and are expected to last until 2050. They will be used to train Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard pilots.

Weekly buzz