Flying

UK to Augment Battlefield-Support Helo Force

posted: 03 October 2007 01:56 pm ET

: The UK is increasing its battlefield-support helicopter force by 14 aircraft, six AgustaWestland Merlins bought from Denmark and eight grounded special-forces Chinook Mk3s that will be converted to Mk2A standard. The six Merlins will be given a new advanced-design rotor blade to allow them to operate in hot-and-high desert environments in support of British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Credit: Crown Copyright 2007
: The first two of six AgustaWestland Merlins bought by the UK Ministry of Defence from Denmark arrive in England. The aircraft will be converted to Mk3 standard to allow hot-and-high desert operations. When the necessary modifications are completed in 2008, the Merlins will be operated by a new RAF squadron, 78 Squadron, which will be based at RAF Benson in South Oxfordshire. Credit: Crown Copyright

The UK Ministry of Defence has bought six Agusta Westland Merlin helicopters from Denmark to help increase its force of battlefield-support helicopters by 14 aircraft.

When the newly purchased Merlins become available for operations in 2008, after undergoing modifications to the Mark 3 standard needed for deployment to Afghanistan, they will increase the UK forces' complement of Merlin Mk 3s to 28 aircraft.

Along with spares and modifications, which are being made at AgustaWestland's plant in Yeovil, Devon, the cost of the aircraft to the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is some $357 million (pounds 175 million).

Modifications include UK-specific defensive aids and "BERP IV" advanced rotor blades, which will improve the Merlins' speed, range and lift capability and will give them the hot-and-high performance needed to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan.

UK Defence Minister Lord Drayson announced the establishment of a new RAF Merlin squadron -- 78 Squadron -- to be based at RAF Benson, in South Oxfordshire. This squadron will operate the six ex-Danish Merlins. All of the RAF's 22 existing Merlin Mk 3s are based at RAF Benson.

The other eight helicopters involved in the 14-aircraft addition to the UK's battlefield support helicopter force are Boeing CH-47 Chinook Mk 3s that the MoD ordered in 1995 at a cost of $529 million (pounds 259 million) for special forces operations. These specially configured Chinooks were delivered to the UK in 2001, but have remained unavailable for their planned role ever since.

This is because the purchase contract neglected to specify that the software documentation and code for the Chinooks' avionics systems be shown to meet UK Defence Standards. Without this analysis, the MoD never was able to demonstrate that the integrity of the software for the Chinooks' flight instruments met the required standards.

After taking military advice, the MoD now has decided to have the Chinook Mk3s converted to Chinook Mk 2A battlefield-support helicopters, given the high-priority need to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Work will begin immediately on the conversion, which is expected to cost from $102 million to $122 million (pounds 50 million to 60 million). Modification of the eight aircraft should be completed within two years and will increase the RAF's force of Chinook Mk2s and Mk2As to 48 aircraft. The Chinook is the mainstay of the UK's helicopter support force in Afghanistan.

When completed as Chinook Mk2As, the eight additional aircraft will be based at RAF Odiham in Hampshire.

Once all 14 additional battlefield-support helicopters are delivered, the UK forces' support helicopter force will number 156 aircraft: 28 Merlin Mk3s, 48 Chinook Mk2/2As, 38 Aerospatiale/Westland Puma Mk1s, and 42 Sikorsky Sea King Mk 4/6Cs.

In addition to the Merlin Mk3 and Chinook Mk2A initiatives, the MoD continues to work on its Future Rotorcraft Capability (FRC) program, to ensure that the UK has adequate battlefield-support helicopter capabilities in the long term. FRC program plans call for a competition to be launched early next year for proposals for a new medium-lift helicopter for the UK forces.