Boeing joins Team Cormorant for maritime patrol helicopter project

June 12th, 1999

GKN Westland and Agusta have announced that the Boeing Company is joining Team Cormorant in Canada to provide the mission system for the Cormorant maritime patrol helicopter that will be offered to the Canadian government to meet their requirement to replace their existing fleet of Sea King ship-borne helicopters.

Boeing will provide a proven, flexible, state-of-the-art maritime patrol mission system that integrates sensors, weapons and other systems using commercial-off-the-shelf technology and based on Open System Architecture.

"This is a very exciting development for the Cormorant program. Boeing brings to the team a proven, internationally recognised track record of more than 20 years experience in designing and developing advanced maritime mission systems. The Cormorant mission system is derived from the Boeing system developed for the United Kingdom's Nimrod MRA 4 Maritime Patrol Program," said Frank Bamford, Head of Region - America's for GKN Westland Helicopters Ltd.

The Cormorant mission system provided by Boeing performs maritime patrol missions ranging from deep water under-sea and surface surveillance through littoral missions, exclusive economic zone surveillance and defence including fisheries patrol, search and rescue and command and control operations.

EH101 Cormorant Search and Rescue

The Boeing Company has developed a leading edge software system that permits the use of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) operating system software to provide more effective and affordable, world class maritime patrol and surveillance platforms. This open system enables the customer to plug and play various sensors and systems into a developed, low cost, low risk, standardised framework.

"Married with the Cormorant helicopter platform, this approach will meet budgetary and mission needs thereby avoiding costly and high risk development programs" said Tom Gubala, Vice President and General Manager of Information and Surveillance Systems at Boeing Space & Communications. "At Boeing, we have a long history of delivering leading technology, quality products and logistics support."

Gabriele Galleazzi, Sales Manager - North America for Agusta, a Finmeccanica company, stressed the cost benefits to Canada of the Cormorant in the maritime role.

"Team Cormorant's maritime solution will provide significant cost savings through commonality with the Cormorant search and rescue helicopter. A common Cormorant maritime and search and rescue fleet would produce substantial operational savings over the fifty or so years the aircraft will be in use."

The three-engine Cormorant is designed to operate in adverse conditions including extremes of temperature, high humidity, icing and dusty environments. Its three engines substantially improve margins of safety, particularly at take-off and landing where it can tolerate the loss of an engine without loss of pilot authority.

Designed from the outset to meet naval, civil and military utility requirements through a single, integrated programme, the Anglo-Italian Cormorant is a true multi-mission helicopter, offering high speed, long range and rapid configuration change capability.

Orders for 98 Cormorant and other EH101 variants have been placed by the Canadian Armed Forces, the Italian Navy, the British Royal Navy and Royal Air Force and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. It is in full production in both Italy and the UK and the EH101 Merlin anti-submarine warfare variant has now entered service with the British Royal Navy.

You can contact GKN Westland Helicopters at info@gkn-whl.co.uk
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