AgustaWestland North America has joined with Bristow Group, Doss Aviation and Rockwell Collins to develop a turnkey solution using the AW119Kx helicopter to address the rotary-wing pilot training needs of U.S. military and government customers. The single-engine AW119 is built at AgustaWestland’s Philadelphia plant. The consortium has already pitched the plan to the U.S. Navy and formally announced it April 14 at the U.S. Navy League’s Sea, Air, Space exposition in Washington, D.C. The Navy is expected to issue a tender to replace its fleet of Bell TH-57 Sea Ranger training helicopters in the near future.

The services-based support solution would provide for total life-cycle support and management and include provision of training helicopters, simulators, ground instruction, fleet management and maintenance of the aircraft. The consortium maintains this training model offers the main advantage of freeing government customers of the costs associated with acquiring this new-technology fleet and the infrastructure to support it. “This solution will lift the financial burden of buying and ease the burden of supporting commercial aircraft for government and military customers with pilot training needs,” said Robert LaBelle, CEO of AgustaWestland North America. “It will allow them to focus their vital resources on core military missions instead of investing unnecessarily to recapitalize a total end-to-end pilot training system.”

Bristow Group CEO Jonathan Baliff stressed the company’s expertise in providing privatized solutions for government missions, in particular its recent takeover of search-and-rescue missions from the Royal Air Force in the UK. Bristow, a leading global OGP services company, also operates one of the largest private helicopter flight training businesses in the world, the Bristow Academy, in Titusville, Fla. “At a time when governments face increased pressure for efficiency and risk management, we can provide outstanding, world-class service that delivers value for money,” Baliff said. “We can deliver the best possible solution for our customer.

“Bristow’s reputation for safety leadership and our experience in managing one of the world’s largest helicopter fleets includes providing training and support services to military and paramilitary customers in several regions of the world, including for the UK search-and-rescue [SAR] contract on behalf of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency. Together with our consortium partners, we can bring state-of-the-art aircraft with advanced technologies, our industry-leading operational capabilities and training experts to deliver the best possible solution for our customer.”

Founded in 1970 and based in Colorado Springs, Doss Aviation has provided fixed- and rotary-wing flight training for the U.S. Army and Air Force, including initial flight training for the USAF and advanced instructor pilot training for the United States Army. The company operates a fleet of 55 aircraft and 80 refueling vehicles. It provides flight training, aircraft maintenance and maintenance training, aircraft bulk fuel operations and transient aircraft support, air traffic control, and airfield management and logistics. U.S. Government customers have included the Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency, NASA, FBI, FAA, and the Department of Homeland Security. Doss currently employs 500. It is owned by J.F. Lehman and Company.

Rockwell Collins is the current avionics provider to AgustaWestland for its line of medium twin helicopters. The company also builds flight simulation systems.