In 2006 , government announced its intentions to privatise the RAF Search and Rescue Force ( the search and rescue ( SAR ) helicopter service ) . A ten-year contract worth £ 1.6 billon was signed in March 2013 with Bristow Helicopters to run the service from 2015 with new AgustaWestland AW189 and Sikorsky S-92 helicopters . SAR helicopter operations in the north-east of Scotland ceased at Lossiemouth and moved to Inverness Airport , located to the west . 'D ' flight of No. 202 Squadron disbanded on 1 April 2015 and its Sea King HAR3s were stored at RAF Valley , Anglesey , bringing nearly 43 years of search and rescue operations at Lossiemouth to an end . The Sea Kings had been a familiar sight in the skies above Scotland , having been involved in the Piper Alpha disaster , Lockerbie bombing and appearing in local and national media
Piper Alpha disaster
Piper Alpha
RAF Lossiemouth