Prince William's search and rescue chopper teams snapped up by U.S. in £1.6bn deal U.S. private firm Bristow Group will take over helicopter rescue service Announcement marks the end of 70 years of RAF and Navy rescues Famous Sea King helicopter will be replaced by newer models By Ben Spencer and Hugo Gye Sell-off: Rescue helicopter services, such as those flown by Prince William, will now be operated by a private American company A U.S. firm was today handed the contract for Britain's helicopter search and rescue operations. The award of the £1.6billion contract to Texas-based Bristow Group marks the end of 70 years of search and rescue operations by the Royal Navy, the RAF and the Maritime & Coastguard Agency. Armed forces pilots such as Prince William, who works at the RAF search and rescue base on Anglesey, will be replaced by civilian contractors over the next few years. Bristow is planning to replace it with the faster Sikorsky S-92 and Somerset-built AgustaWestland 189. The deal means a reduction from 12 to ten search and rescue bases, with an end to operations at RAF Boulmer in Northumberland and Portland coastguard centre in Dorset. Mercy mission: Prince William leaves a Sea King helicopter, which will be replaced as part of the plans The Sea King helicopter has been an iconic sight over British seas for nearly four decades - whether emblazoned in RAF yellow or the red of the Royal Navy. The search and rescue vehicles first entered military service in 1977 and were built by Westland Helicopters, adapted from the Sikorsky S-61. It is well adapted for search missions as it can hold up to 19 passengers as well as the crew. The Sea King's Rolls-Royce H1400-1 Gnome engines give it a top speed of 143mph. The vehicle is nearly 56ft long, with rotors of 62ft. Of the many RAF pilots to have operated the Sea King, the best-known is Prince William, who has been flying rescue missions since October 2010 - following in the footsteps of his uncle, the Duke of York. Its success is at the expense of UK firm Bond Aviation, which was also in the running for the contract. Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: 'Our SAR helicopter service plays a crucial role, saving lives and providing assistance to people in distress on both land and on sea. With 24 years of experience providing SAR helicopter services in the UK, the public can have great confidence in Bristow and their ability to deliver a first-class service with state-of-the-art helicopters. Officials claim that the deal will allow search and rescue helicopters to reach 85 per cent of accident hotspots within 30 minutes, up from 70 per cent currently. Bristow Helicopters was founded in Aberdeen in 1953, and was taken over in 1996 by the American firm Offshore Logistics, which subsequently rebranded itself as Bristow Group.