Australia to sell Navy Sea King helicopters

The Australian Government has issued the Request for Tender to sell five Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Sea King helicopters, Defence Materiel minister Jason Clare said.

The tender includes five complete helicopters, three airframes, a flight simulator and related spare parts, while the sixth helicopter will be preserved at the navy’s Fleet Air Arm Museum in Sydney.

The sale of the helicopters would be advertised globally including major defence exhibitions in the UK and Canada this month.

Clare said that the helicopters are scheduled for retirement from service in December 2011.

“The Sea Kings could be used for a range of things like fire fighting, disaster relief, search and rescue, by another Navy or commercially,” Clare added.