The federal government has announced the awarding of a contract that will see the country’s CH-149 Cormorant helicopter fleet upgraded to the most advanced version of the aircraft.

The contract, awarded to Leonardo UK Ltd, will acquire additional airframes and parts to increase the fleet size from 13 to 16.

The Cormorants are involved in Search and Rescue operations out of 9 Wing Gander with the 103 Search and Rescue Squadron, as well as Greenwood Nova Scotia, and Comox B.C.

The project will also address the need for improved training through a domestic flight simulator, with dedicated training capacity in Canada. That means crews will no longer have to travel to the UK for training.

The $1.24 billion price tag is about $200 million more than originally planned.