I would honestly like to know too
AeroAmigo , From my knowledge I know that not many faces came to putting a bid towards the tender. As far as I am aware, only Heli-Ops nominated the Bell 429 as the of airframe they would provide NPAS with, but heard nothing, nor any trials with this type of aircraft or even if there were any outcomes. I also think Airbus Helicopters also put a bid towards the tender, but no big information was disclosed regarding the types, which lets be honest would only be of the H135 T/P3s or H145 D3s. Would be interesting to see if any of the other regulars have put in bids towards the fleet replacement tender like; like Babcock, Gama, Sloane, Heliservices, Bristow, CHC or Castle Air. It is becoming quite tedious now, as NPAS first started looking for a fleet replacement back in 2017 to my knowledge.
We may have to start rattling the cage on What Do They Know FOI page. To see if we can get HQ to budge with some answers!
Yeah, I completely agree! NPAS should've snapped those H135s up. They would all probably be role-equipped and in service now to help optimise the fleet, which is in dire need of some newer airframes!
In other news, the fleet update is looking bleak. Only 8 aircraft operational as of 00:30, 25/11/2024.
