Leonardo awarded £271m AW159 Wildcat Integrated Support & Training (WIST) contract by UK Ministry of Defence

Leonardo has been awarded a £271 million (approximately €320 million) contract by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to deliver support and training services for their fleet of 62 AW159 Wildcat helicopters operated by the British Army and Royal Navy. The five year contract will commence 1st April 2017 and confirms the price the MOD will pay for Wildcat training and support for the next five years of the 30 year WIST contract awarded in 2012. The WIST contract includes a spares provisioning service, enhanced technical support services including aircraft safety management, as well as delivering synthetic and ground based training for both aircrew and maintainers. The contract directly sustains over 500 skilled industry jobs, mainly in the South West of England at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, where the Wildcat Training Centre and zonal maintenance facilities are located, and at Leonardo’s Yeovil factory. Leonardo’s contribution also involves its Airborne & Space Systems division for the radar and defensive aids systems, located in Edinburgh and Luton. Other key subcontractors supporting the WIST programme include Thales UK for communication and aircraft management systems, located in Crawley and Morson who provide aircraft maintenance and support staff, mainly at RNAS Yeovilton.