As noted, any additional Chinook procurement is long overdue and would help to put right Mr. Rifkind’s wrong in the 90’s.
Boeing will be only too aware that when it comes to heavy lift the UK MoD only has eyes for Chinook, which puts them in a strong negotiating position, but that shouldn’t detract from the need to buy more.
The idea of giving the CHF the MK3’s to replace the Sea King has been around for some time, although a desire for a fully marinised platform will likely see a costly modification program in the future.
I hear from some circles that if more Chinooks are coming, then FMH is dead. Assuming the MK3’s go salty, then the Sea King solution is identified, but not so for the Puma as I still see a role for a smaller utility/medium lift platform post 2022 – 2027 when the Puma’s finally goes and also for Spec Ops.
There is a need (and it makes sense) to reduce platform model numbers to as few as possible, so it’s a shame we didn’t go the Chinook, BlackHawk, Apache (and maybe even a flight of Little Bird’s) solution as they are all proven, do what they say on the box and are widely used by a large number of our allies. Interoperability - what a novel idea.
A weekend opinion poll shows a growing majority of the UK population want British troops out of Afghanistan within 12 months. I see Mr. Brown wasted no time at last night’s Lord Mayor's banquet in making a little political gain out of this news and in spite of what the Military see as a need for the future, I wonder whether any expedited exit strategy will cause Ministers to question the number of new platforms on the wish list?