International Defense and Aerospace Group (IDAG) has signed an $11 million deal to buy 25 Schweizer S300CBi helicopters, less than two weeks after IDAG bought the former Bristow Academy, Schweizer announced yesterday at Heli-Expo 2019. Fort Worth, Texas-based Schweizer said the deal marks the first commercial sale of the S300CBi since it purchased the helicopter line from Sikorsky last year.
“With our multiple flight training operations in Europe and with our recent acquisition of United States Aviation Training Solutions (USATS) in Titusville, Florida, IDAG is the largest Schweizer operator worldwide,” IDAG chief executive Robert Caldwell said. Pennsylvania-based IDAG currently has a fleet of more than 30 S300s, as well as an existing company fleet of more than 50 primary, advanced, and tactical training aircraft, including UH-60 Black Hawks. “This purchase allows us to deploy assets across multiple satellite locations as we look to expand operations” inside and outside of the continental U.S., Caldwell added.
In late February, IDAG purchased USATS from a group of private investors, who purchased the flight training school in 2017 from the financially challenged offshore operator Bristow Group.
Schweizer said S300CBi deliveries to IDAG are scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2020.