As long ago as 2005, the problem was being talked about:
The armed forces face an "alarming" shortage of battlefield helicopters, a Commons committee has warned. The Public Accounts Committee said the gap between the number of helicopters needed and those available to the MoD is between 20% and 38%.
The shortage was exacerbated by the MoD's £259m purchase of eight Chinook helicopters, which remain grounded. The report also said shortfalls in other protection equipment could increase risks for service people.
The MPs branded the Chinook affair "one of the worst examples of equipment procurement that the committee has seen".
Bill Quango got to the root of the problem:
The real problem today is the one that the Lib dems and Tories are accusing the government of. The £1.4 BN cut in helicopter spending in 2004. At the height of TWO wars, each with terrain that makes airlift essential, the then chancellor, the current PM, decided to cut helicopter spending.
One really does wonder about that man Brown's mind, you know. So, with the Future Lynx not up and running until 2013 and the current ones wearing out, what to do?
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Cancel Future Lynx and buy Blackhawks/Seahawks and Chinooks of the shelf (or get a licence for Westland to assemble them as was done with the Sea King). Lease more(either with or without crews) Mil Mi-8 MTVs in the short term. Increase the percentage of pilots on rotary wing courses. Helicopter lift provision should be on a par with USMC standards. Make the Army Air Corps the Royal AAC to emphasize its importance in a post horse world.
ReplyDeleteA helicopter may not prevent deaths from IEDs on the ground but it makes it harder for the Tabilan to predict patrol areas and routes.
More patrolling should be done with light helicopters and UAVs.
I've no direct experience but I've followed helicopters with interest since the Europhiliacs screwed Westlands in the Heseltine/Britten fiasco of the eighties. If Westlands had been taken over by Sikorsky then the money wasted on Merlin would have bought dozens more better helis.
About time they get you on the advisory panel, methinks.
ReplyDeleteThis is so simple, and if our rulers treat buying a few helicopters as rocket science, how the hell can they choose trident's replacement?
ReplyDeleteFor possibly curious reasons, this recent Reuters news report seems to have escaped the attentions of British media although it was picked up by the American press as this shows:
ReplyDelete"PANKELA, Afghanistan (Reuters) - As British troops moved into the village newly freed from Taliban control, they heard one message from the anxious locals: for God's sake do not bring back the Afghan police. . . "
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/12/AR2009071200868.html
More public spending on helicopters in these straightened times or not, I notice that the governments of France and Germany have been sufficiently sensible to keep their troops out of harm's way in Afghanistan nothwithstanding NATO obligations.
As I recall it, Soviet helicopters in Afghanistan were very vulnerable to RPGs and simple ground-to-air missiles.
Stupid short sightedness especially given the nature of combat in Iran and Afghanistan. In that respect Brown is no different to his predecessors. His successors will make similar mistakes too
ReplyDelete"As I recall it, Soviet helicopters in Afghanistan were very vulnerable to RPGs and simple ground-to-air missiles."
ReplyDeleteYes... only when Andy McNab and his mates were on the ground using Stingers on Russian helicopters... plus showing the locals how to use them and giving them a very large supply, which were subsequently hidden. We now have a situation where these deadly weapons could literally turn up anywhere... not to mention Iran back-engineering the technology.
With Tony Blair as the new EU Prezzie, we'll soon be motivated to invade Iran in accordance with the Blairite Doctrine of Liberal Interventionism.
ReplyDeleteNaturally, that will provoke accusations by Muslims of EU Islamophobia so to even things up we'll invade China as well in defence of the human rights of the Uighurs in Xianjiang province.
With a bit of effort, prospects for WW3 are starting to look quite promising.
NNWer. Bob B [welcome], Jams and Harry - I've read it all and thanks for that, gents.
ReplyDelete