LONDON — Lockheed Martin has taken the lion's share of an £80 million (US $122 million) investment by the British Ministry of Defence in new synthetic training systems for Chinook Mk6 and Merlin Mk4 helicopter crew training.

Lockheed's UK arm has been awarded a £51 million deal to design, build and manage a new training facility for 14 Chinook Mk6 helicopters now in the process of being delivered to the Royal Air Force by Boeing.

A second deal valued at £29 million involving training for pilots and rear crew on Royal Navy Merlin Mk 4/4a helicopters has been secured by AgustaWestland and simulator supplier CAE.

The 12-year deal with Lockheed Martin includes two flight deck simulators, a rear crew training device and computer-based training facilities at the RAF's Chinook operating base at Odiham, southern England. Lockheed is supplying the flight deck simulatorsare being supplied by Lockheed itself.

The final Mk6 is scheduled to be delivered to the RAF during the fourth quarter of this year.

The new helicopters, part of a 60-strong fleet of Chinooks operated by the British, are expected to be declared fully operational in 2017 at about the same time as the new training facility comes into action.

The delivery of the Mk6 helicopters is part of a £650 million deal signed by the MoD and Boeing in 2011.

Lockheed is already the major player in British aircrew training, being a partner alongside Babcock in the Ascent program aimed at providing mainly elementary and basic flying training on fixed- and rotary-wing platforms across the three armed services.

AgustaWestland's contract will see the helicopter maker install crew-training facilities at the Royal Navy air station at Yeovilton, southwest England, for Merlins that are being converted from an RAF battlefield support role for the RAF to a Marine commando transport.

As part of the deal, CAE has signed up to supply two flight training devices, a flight navigation procedures trainer and a rear crew trainer.

The systems are scheduled for delivery beginning in 2017 and will be installed in existing facilities.

Announcing the contracts, Defence Procurement Minister Philip Dunne said that "alongside essential flying experience, these world-class simulators will play a vital role in ensuring our people are capable, competent and ready to deploy on operations around the globe."

Email: achuter@defensenews.com

Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.

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