From all the news in the press recently about commanders that have been requesting more helicopters for Afghanistan for ages i thought i would bring it up.
Currently it looks like the army are saying we have a critical shortage of helicopters but the government will make you believe they have everything they need out there.
I don’t know of current numbers out in Afghanistan but clearly it doesn’t seem to be enough.
What i heard was that the Americans that have deployed to helmand recently have 8 TIMES the helicopters available per solider compared to UK This is a worrying problem and we may see some action soon especially with the 8 troops dying recently from an IED.
Why the UK doesn’t deploy more of the Helicopters we have is beyond me, what is the point in buying equipment for war fighting and not using it for that purpose.
Here is a list of what i can find on helicopter number’s the Uk has. I have used MOD sites and a bit of wiki ( i know it’s not the most accurate so corrections are welcome.
40 Chinooks + 8 HC3 being converted so they can be used
22 HC3 Merlins + 6 ex Danish HC3a (these were in Iraq not sure where they are now?)
33 Puma’s
37 HC4 Seakings + 5 HAS6(CR) (These are the commando troop carriers)
73 Gazelles (in the process of being retired and only have limited payload but can be good for transporting commanders and having an overall picture of the battlefield)
67 Apaches
76 Lynx AH7’s and 23 AH9’s
6 Bell 212 HP
Now i know we need some for training and all of the rest can’t be deployed all at once because on Maintenance and other issues but that is alot of helicopters.
There are issues with sand and dust and the Hot and High Conditions but these can be fixed quite easily (apart from hot and high that takes a bit more time)
I would think the Merlins are perfect for Afgan and the more Chinooks are a Must. Also some more Apaches to provide escort.
The Lynx’s and Gazelles are great for given commanders transport and if the Lynx doesn’t have a role why on earth are we buying the Wildcat? The Lynx could also do light people transport and would probably be good for rescue and Medivac and eyes in the sky.
Some Commando Seakings are already out there so they can work ok. there are also loads of Ex RN ASW seakings lying about that can be converted like the 5 HAS6 (CR) As far as i know this involves ripping out any equipment that is not needed and bobs your uncle. (probably more to it than that but)
Not to sure if the Puma’s can cope with the heat but if they can’t dump them and buy something that can or deploy these on other missions in the UK etc to free up some helicopters that can cope with the heat. Why not swap something for the 6 Bell 212HP that are in Belize or Brunei if they can cope with heat better. If a puma can only lift 4 people in Belize then that’s what we have to do until we sort other measures out.
When a war is on you have to pull out all the stops all provide 100% support for the troops. everything the UK has done over the past 10 years has made war more difficult. Reducing the troop battalions (we need them increased again). Not buying new equipment because of the peace dividend is really starting to hurt now. Just ask the Royal Navy or the army. The RAF has done alright with it’s 232 eurofighters tho. if the uk had not had an equipment buying holiday from 1990 to 2000 we might not be needing to buy so much now.
Before 1990 the uk was knocking out ships and subs for the RN on a regular basis and now look at the problems.
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July 13, 2009 at 4:29 pm