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Big changes for the UK's Helicopter Fleet

15th December 2009 - 10:00 GMT | by Tony Osborne in London

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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

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Author

Tony Osborne

Tony was deputy editor of Defence Helicopter and Rotorhub magazines before joining Aviation Week in …

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