Originally Posted by
pba_target
I'd say the quote is likely mixing army and RAF, something the press has historically facepalmed with. 212 (AAC), 412 (RAF) Dauphin (aac)
ukdefencejournal's article following the review seems to have stopped many journos wading through the tosh that is
Defence in a Competitive Age. As we know that states:
7.39. The Army is retiring its oldest CH-47 Chinook helicopters and investing, alongside the US, in newer variants of this operationally proven aircraft, enhancing capability, efficiency and interoperability. Our AH-64 Apache Attack Helicopters will be upgraded to a state-of-the-art capability by 2025. Investment in a new medium lift helicopter in the mid-2020s will enable a consolidation of the Army’s disparate fleet of medium lift helicopters from four platform types to one; including the replacement of Puma. The Army will also retain and upgrade Watchkeeper.
Which may also account for the 'Army helicopters'
The Army's public message is:
The New Medium Helicopter Programme will see four of the medium-sized helicopters currently in service across Defence replaced by one new helicopter. This will include the Bell 212 that is used by the Army Air Corps in the jungle areas of Brunei.
The obvious others, besides the Pumas, are the 412s in Cyprus and the Dauphins, the only question about the latter being will the new medium helicopter provide what ever it is currently justifies 658 having its own type to support SF ops.
As the Bell 212s and 412s are COMR presumably still owned by FB Heliservices (formerly part of Cobham) / (Sold to Draken Bidco) /(or whoever else they may next belong to) does that mean a change to the way 84 and 667 squadrons' cabs are provided? If Draken are winding down their related operations, as Bolso says, then their replacement becomes more urgent. UPDATE:I've just read the Rotorheads post Bolso refers to
https://www.pprune.org/showthread.php?p=11134089 "Draken have just informed staff that they are pulling the pin on all their helicopter contracts".
Air Cdre Al Smith of JHC disclosed at Defence IQ International Military Helicopter in 2018 that plans for a replacement of the chicken legs were in place, based on an OSD of 2025 which might have to be brought forward due to spares isues - whether the review squashed that is another question. Fight Global reported:
Employed by the Army Air Corps in the reconnaissance and battlefield liaison role, the Gazelle also relies on a pool of what Smith describes as “really highly-trained” flightcrew, who are used to operating as a single pilot in “quite challenging weather conditions”.
“How much longer do we want to rely [on those crews]...and at what point do we want technology to reduce that workload?” asks Smith.
A replacement programme is unlikely to be a like-for-like acquisition: thanks to advances in technology, Smith believes that a similar or better capability could be provided with a smaller number of platforms.
“Looking at the number of Gazelles, we think we can deliver a customer product with significantly fewer than we have today,” he says.
My view, for what its worth, is a few may continue whistling for some time (the remainder being RTP for spares) while being replaced by a UAS in roles for which it makes sense to do so. Davef68 may recall recommending the H135 as a replacement at the time.