The contract extends over a period of 6 years beginning in 2012 with option for additional 2 years and thereafter another 2 years. The contract includes the following:
- Support and maintenance of all 20 helicopters including materiel and technical personnel.
- Base staff in the form of management, planning and administration.
- Logistics and materiel provision.
- On-call services in the form of additional technical personnel.
The contract will come into force following a 10-day period without any third party appeal.
"With this contract, we are consolidating our previous long-standing and strong cooperation with the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration and the Swedish Armed Forces regarding their helicopter operations. For Saab, this strengthens our core business," says Lars-Erik Wige head of Saab's Support and Services business area.
The commitment is part of the strategic development within Saab towards a broader civil and military helicopter operation.
Helicopter 15 currently operates from two bases in Sweden, Linkoping and Ronneby. Linkoping is the main base for maintenance, inspections and repairs, meaning that the majority of Saab's support and maintenance resources will be based there, including technicians, mechanics and base staff. The base in Ronneby will also have the capacity for flights and limited maintenance, inspections and troubleshooting.
