PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - 30 More UK Helicopters to Afghanistan???
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Old 20th Sep 2008, 07:03
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Tiger_mate
 
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30 helicopter would typically mean 45 crew ie 90 pilots. So not from the UK as the Training pipeline a) does not have the students and b) could not cope if it did.

I have heard rumours of stored CH47 Chinook sitting outside on Italian airfields in storage. Although aged airframes of basic standard, they could be resurected for Afghan use. Though who would operate them and where the DAS would come from is anybodys guess. It would be far from quick to achieve this.

Perhaps the new fleet is the stick attached to the 'Join NATO' carrot, in which serviceable helicopters and trained crews could join up at short notice. I had read online that at least one former Warsaw Pact country would play if someone was to provide the C17s to get cabs into theatre, though I cannot recall which country it was. Poland rings bells, but I am not sure.
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