The S-76D helicopter has entered into SAR operations with the Japan Coast Goard, Sikorsky Aircraft announced on 26 February.
Executives from the company along with Mitsubishi and the coast guard attended the ceremony that saw the helicopter enter service.
The aircraft was delivered in July 2014. Sikorsky and Mitsubishi have contracts for 11 S-76D helicopters for SAR missions with the Japan Coast Guard.
Shane Eddy, president, commercial systems and services, Sikorsky, said: 'As we continue to deliver the new multi-mission S-76D helicopter into key market segments, this is the first to enter search and rescue service.'
The coast guard has flown a number of S-76 helicopter models in the SAR configuration, including the S-76C, S-76C+ and S-76C++ models.
The S-76D is powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW210S engines. It has a Thales TopDeck integrated avionics system and four-axis autopilot. A health and usage monitoring system has been incorporated into fleet monitoring and analysis, and the helicopter also features flaw-tolerant, all-composite main rotor blades and active vibration control.
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In 2015, South Korea named a consortium of Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Hanwha Systems, along with Thales Alenia Space providing the SAR payload derived from its HE-R1000 product, as preferred bidder to develop new Korea 425 Project reconnaissance satellites.
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