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Big changes for the UK's Helicopter Fleet
Today's announcements by the UK Ministry of Defence have more or less confirmed the many rumours that have been floating around the blogosphere in recent months.
The announcement of 22 more Chinooks has been long expected, but their purchase and the introduction of a new Future Helicopter Strategy has killed off the Future Medium Lift competition.
This Strategy makes some sense however, by 2022 when the upgraded Pumas have been finally put out to pasture, the UK's Joint Helicopter Command will consist of just four core types, Chinook, Merlin, Apache and Wildcat. Throw into this, the plan to bring all the Chinooks to one standard specification and the fleet will finally acheieve a long-wished plan which will help to keep training and maintenance costs down.
Further reading between the lines reveals the long-talked about transfer of the RAF's Merlin fleet to the Royal Navy to replace the Commando Sea Kings although there are no details about whether the battlefield Merlins will be marinised. The Navy will however also lose some its early-build Merlin Mk1s, presumably those that don't make the grade for the Mk2 upgrade. They will also lose some of the older Naval Lynx before the arrival of the new Wildcat.
We still await word however on the status of the SAR-H contract, a decision on which had been widely expected before the Parliamentry Christmas break, but the aircraft which regularly support the RAF and the Royal Navy's search and rescue efforts, the Nimrod is now facing retirement tweleve months earlier than planned in March 2010, and the new MRA4 will be delayed until 2012. Presumably the government are pinning their hopes on a lull in long-range rescues after March.
Perhaps the biggest question of all is why now after all this time is the government now reacting to the demands of commanders in the field, when its line for the past two years is that the troops have all the helicopters they need. We'll never know if it was false confidence, stupidity, ignorance or just a plain lie.
There's likely to be more pain to come in a Strategic Defence Review expected next year.
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