Chopper firm's £300m service deal

The company is still waiting on news of the Future Lynx deal

Helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland has been awarded a £300m Ministry of Defence (MoD) contract.

The Yeovil-based company will take over the servicing of Britain's 102 military Sea King Helicopters.

A spokesman for the company said the deal will save the MoD £50m over the next 10 years.

AgustaWestland were announced as the preferred bidder two weeks ago. It is still waiting to hear about a separate deal around the new Super Lynx.

'Workhorse aircrafts'

Last month, the government said AgustaWestland was the preferred bidder for the contract to supply the new helicopters.

The firm's Future Lynx was named as the preferred option.

The Sea King contract, which lasts until 2018, replaces about 60 individual contracts with more than 30 - mostly British - different suppliers, the MoD said.

BAE Systems and French group Thales have been made "major sub-contractors" by AgustaWestland as part of the deal.

The three largest Sea King bases are at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset, and RNAS Culdrose and RAF St Mawgan in Cornwall.

The helicopters are described as the "workhorse aircrafts" of the armed forces.

About 4,000 people currently work at the Yeovil site.