"AAR Airlift Group Inc., CHI Aviation, and Columbia Helicopters [will divvy up $484, 820, 078 in contracts to provide rotary wing airlift services in support of US Central Command's area of responsibility," the release stated on Wednesday. "The total value of the rotary wing program through fiscal 2021 is $948,817,666."
AAR Airlift received $158,659,780, CHI Aviation $153,972,615 and Columbia Helicopters $172,187,683, the release noted.
The three contractors specialize in providing US Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) with heavy lift helicopters, pilots, maintenance crews and other engineering support, according to the companies’ websites. TRANSCOM, in turn, works with the contractors to provide CENTCOM air support.
Taken together, the companies pilots have flown well over 50,000 hours in Afghanistan and many more in Iraq and Syria.
