Westland Helicopters have secured a contract with the Ministry of Defence valued between £40 and £50 million per year.

The deal is described as a "strategic partnering contract" and means that Westland Helicopters - together with sub-contractors Westland Transmission Ltd and The Defence Aviation Repair Agency (DARA) - will provide and manage the repair and overhaul service for all blade-to-blade components on all the MoD Lynx and Sea King fleets.

The strategic partnering contract is to provide repair and overhaul for as long as the aircraft remain in service.

A Westland spokesperson said: "The contract presents opportunities to move to a more integrated approach to support the MoD's current fleet of Sea King and Lynx helicopters.

"The strategic partnering contract will be the cornerstone for a fully integrated operational support solution."

It was added that the strategic partnering contract means a major change in how repairs and overhauls are managed as the direct control of spares provision risk transfers from the MoD to Westland Helicopters.

The contract is seen as a major endorsement of the companies involved since it includes the possibility to extend to other repairable items.

Bert Brookes, the customer support director at Westland Helicopters, commented: "This partnership paves the way for an entirely new way of contracting with the MoD, and brings many opportunities for West-land to demonstrate the company's ability to offer a fully contractorised support service."