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SDSR: Wildcat safe but Chinook order and Puma upgrade numbers cut
The British government is to cut the number of Chinooks it planned to order as part of its Future Helicopter Strategy, it has been revealed.
Announcing the results of the first Strategic Defence Review of the UK armed forces for more than a decade on 19 October, UK Prime Minister David Cameron also confirmed that the procurement of the Lynx Wildcat was safe.
The Puma upgrade would continue, but a statement made to the RAF Families Federation by the Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton the same day states that 24 Pumas will be upgraded rather than the 28 originally announced when the contract was signed in September 2009.
The previous Labour administration announced that the Ministry of Defence would order a further 22 Chinooks, plus two attrition replacements as part of its Future Helicopter Strategy and take the Chinook fleet to 70 aircraft. No contract had been signed and it now seems that the order has been cut by 10 to a total of 60.
When questioned about the order cut by the leader of the opposition Ed Miliband, the prime minister claimed that recent teleconferences with commanders in Afghanistan suggested that the number of helicopters available to troops in Afghanistan was no longer a key concern to officers.
The report, called 'Securing Britain in an Age of Uncertainty', states: 'Battlefield helicopters will be vital for the range of missions set out in the National Security Strategy.
'We will buy 12 additional heavy lift Chinook helicopters. We will extend the life of the Puma helicopter to ensure that sufficient helicopters are available for our forces in Afghanistan. The Merlin force will be upgraded to enhance its ability to support amphibious operations.
'Taken together with the continued introduction of the Wildcat helicopters for reconnaissance and command and control purposes, this programme will deliver a properly scaled and balanced helicopter force to support our troops into the future.'
Although it is clear that the Wildcat is secure, the report does say the numbers of maritime helicopters would be 'aligned to the overall size of the future maritime force structure'. The number of surface warfare ships is being cut from 23 to 19, and this may also be reflected in the number of naval helicopters. No mention has been made in the report about the upcoming retirement of the Sea King, still due to take place in 2017.
The decision to continue building the two Queen Elizabeth II-class aircraft carriers and to order the conventional carrier-version of the Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35C, means there is still a requirement for an airborne early warning aircraft to replace the Sea King ASaC7 to operate from the ships, but this is not mentioned in the report.
An outcome decision on the SAR-H programme is expected when the government reveals the details of the Comprehensive Spending Review on 20 October. The cancellation of the Nimrod MRA4 is likely to leave a significant dent in the UK's search and rescue capabilities and put increased pressure on the Royal Navy's Merlin fleet as the UK's only dedicated airborne anti-submarine platforms.
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