Laws Welcomes Government Announcement On Merlin Helicopter Fleet

David Laws, MP for Yeovil Constituency, has welcomed today’s confirmation by the Defence Secretary that work will go ahead to develop and upgrade existing Merlin helicopters.  The upgraded Merlin fleet will be based at RNAS Yeovilton and is set to replace the outgoing Sea King aircraft, which will be taken out of service in 2016.  The helicopters will be upgraded as well as being ‘marinised’ for use at sea.

The announcement in Parliament today by the Secretary of State for Defence, the Rt Hon Philip Hammond, confirmed that Government will be spending £12.7bn on helicopter capability in the next decade, including the planned upgrade to the Merlin fleet. 

Commenting, Mr. Laws said:

“Today’s announcement is welcome news for our area and should help to secure jobs at both Agusta Westland and RNAS Yeovilton.  With the long-standing Sea King fleet going out of service, it’s good news that the future of RNAS Yeovilton has been secured, as it stands to be the base for the new fleet of aircraft."

Category: MP Press Releases