By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent
The Government is selling off UK helicopter search and rescue operations to a US-based company, according to Sky sources.
The Bristow Group, which is headquartered in Texas, has won the contract to run the service from 2015 to 2026.
The exact value of the deal has not been confirmed, but it is expected to be in the region of £3bn.
An official announcement by the Government will be made at 7am on Tuesday before the stock market opens.
It marks the end of 70 years of search and rescue operations by the RAF and Navy.
The distinct yellow RAF Sea King helicopters and grey and red Navy versions were already due to retire from service in 2016.
Upkeep costs and the cost of extending their life has been deemed too expensive.
The move is also in keeping with a wider re-shaping of the military in the face of budget cuts and the 2014 withdrawal from Afganistan.
But the Sea King has been the work-horse of the skies, both in a combat and peacetime capacity, and whatever the merits of this decision, it will be missed by many.
Few other aircraft have so many memorable moments associated with them but the Sea King will long be remembered for its part in the Falklands conflict and the Fastnet race in 1979 when it helped rescue sailors from ferocious seas.
Bristow will operate the service using Sikorsky S-92 and Augusta Westland 189 helicopters.
It is understood that the technology they will introduce is so advanced that the US State Department had to give its approval for it to be used in the UK.
Bristow already provides transport services in the UK to ferry oil-rig workers to and from North Sea platforms.
The company has had a presence in Europe for more than 50 years and also operates in Australia, West Africa, Russia and Malaysia in addition to North America.
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