Soteria unveils helicopter capabilities

The Soteria Consortium has unveiled further details of its bid to provide a single Search and Rescue Helicopter (SAR-H) capability in the UK.

Following the announcement that it will be using the Sikorsky helicopter, the consortium claim that their S92 aircraft is now equipped with technological advances to provide a SAR-H resource that could be rolled out globally.

David Rae, Soteria’s bid director, said: ‘This years requirement for the interim contract did not specify new technologies when it came out to tender, however CHC believe that the time had come to bring civil SAR in the UK in line with technology that we were using in the oil and gas environment.’

The consortium, which includes RBS, Thales and CHC, believe that the combination of increased capacity and safety on the S92 will not only provide maritime, aeronautical and overland support but also aid in military operations.

Captain Richard Dane, a S92 pilot under Interim SAR, said: ‘What makes the aircraft special is the aggregate of its capabilities. Many aircraft have some of what the S92 has got but none to my knowledge have all of it.’