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Qatar firm Gulf Helicopters has agreed to buy a Sikorsky Aircraft S-92 helicopter to provide transportation for dignitaries, Sikorsky announced. The move comes as Sikorsky is awaiting word Friday as to whether the Navy will buy a variant of the S-92 called the VH-92 as the next Marine One presidential transport.
But Sikorsky faces competition from Lockheed Martin Corp. and Agusta/Westland, an Italian/United Kingdom company, which offers the US101, a variant of the European military helicopter EH101.
Previously, Turkey and Turkmenistan selected the S-92 for head-of-state missions. Turkey has contracted for one and Turkmenistan for two S-92s, according to Sikorsky, a unit of United Technologies Corp.
In November, Canada signed a contract to purchase 28 H-92s, the military variant of the S-92, for its Maritime Helicopter Program.
Sikorsky has 89 orders to date, including options, for the S-92 and H-92.The S-92 was the first helicopter in the world certified by the FAA to a safety standard called FAR Part 29 Transport Rotorcraft, Amendment 47. as well as the equivalent European Aviation Safety Agency/Joint Aviation Authorities (EASA/JAA) standards, Sikorsky notes.
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