UK deals Leonardo another hand of WIST
AW159 Wildcat helicopters on the ground. (Photo: Leonardo Helicopters)
Leonardo Helicopters is implementing the third phase of the the Wildcat Integrated Support and Training contract for the UK armed forces.
Leonardo Helicopters confirmed on 6 April that it is delivering the third stage of the Wildcat Integrated Support and Training (WIST) contract for the UK armed forces, ‘which confirms the next five-year period of the 34-year contract originally signed in 2012’.
A £360 million contract to deliver support services for the UK fleet of AW159 Wildcat helicopters was awarded in 2021 by MoD Defence Equipment & Support.
The WIST contract includes spares provisioning, a three-year scheduled maintenance service, enhanced technical support and ‘synthetic and ground-based training for both aircrew and maintainers’, Leonardo noted in a statement.
A total of 60 twin-engine Wildcat helicopters are in service with the British Army and RN, according to Shephard Defence Insight.
Keith Bethell, DE&S director of helicopters, said: ‘The maiden operational deployment of [the] Carrier Strike Group emphasised once again the important role Wildcat helicopters play, and will continue to play, as the UK faces emerging and evolving threats.’
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