The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence has extended its contract with Leonardo under a £165 million ($213 million) deal for the maintenance of the Royal Navy’s fleet of 54 Merlin helicopters.
The Merlin HM Mk2 helicopter is the Royal Navy’s airborne submarine hunter, capable of carrying out search and rescue operations, intercepting drug runners and pirates, and supporting humanitarian relief efforts.
Armed with Sting-Ray Torpedoes and M3M .50 calibre machine guns, the Mk2 helicopters provide the Royal Navy with anti-submarine and anti-surface support. There are currently two types of Merlin helicopter currently in use in the Royal Navy: the mark-2 (Mk2) and the mark-4 (Mk4).
