Government has entered into a $586,000 contract with an organisation that will supply meteorological equipment to replace that currently used by the United States Navy, a Minister said yesterday.

Management and Technology Minister the Hon. Grant Gibbons said the new equipment would "enhance our aviation, marine and public weather forecasting and form the basis for a comprehensive Bermuda national weather service.'' The contract was signed with the UNISYS Corporation. It will supply meteorological equipment which will be set up in the weather facilities the Navy now uses.

Dr. Gibbons said the decision to stay in the same place was based on cost considerations and operational efficiency.

In a second contract that would change the airport from a military to a civilian-based operation, Dr. Gibbons said Government planned to spend $562,000.

This contract had been struck with the engineering wing of the United States Navy called the Naval In-Service Engineering (East) Division.

Dr. Gibbons said that since NISE (East) was going to be in Bermuda assisting the Navy to remove its military air traffic control equipment, Government had moved to get approval for them to "reconfigure our control tower equipment.'' Among its many duties NISE (East) will install a voice switching device to improve airport control tower communications and a digitiser to transmit radar and radio aeronautical data between Bermuda and the Federal Aviation Administration in New York.

NISE (East) is expected to be finished on May 7, while UNISYS is to be finished installing the weather equipment some time in April.

Meanwhile, the Minister said Serco Aviation was well established in its Bermudianisation campaign.

Serco is responsible for air traffic control, crash fire rescue, weather and aeronautical information services and ground electronics maintenance.

Dr. Gibbons said that five of the nine Bermudians who were short-listed as candidates for the air traffic controllers' jobs were offered positions after they all underwent aptitude and medical testing.

Should the five candidates accept the offer, Serco would pay $220,000 for them to attend the Bailbrook College in England from May 13 to December 22. That fee would cover school fees, travel, accommodation and salaries.

After successful completion, they would replace the non-Bermudian controllers.

Similar attempts are being made to attract Bermudians to train as meteorologists and to carry out ground electronics services.

Dr. Gibbons said his Ministry would continue to monitor and ensure there were job creation opportunities for Bermudians at the airport and that he fully expected Bermuda to be ready to assume responsibility for the airport on June 1.