ORAC
25th Jan 2008, 07:57
Thought they might have understood who owned them by now though. So the government claim of "anything they need" means "key tasks" does it?
Torygraph: Third of Army helicopters fit for the front-line (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=NB1HBVYO4HMVZQFIQMGSFF4AVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2008/01/25/nheli125.xml)
Only a third of military helicopters are fit for front-line duty, seriously hampering operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, figures have shown. The lives of soldiers, reliant on helicopters for medical evacuation in Helmand province, are being further put at risk by a 10 per cent shortfall in air crews.
The Tories, who obtained the figures from the Ministry of Defence, blamed Gordon Brown for the problems because he presided over a £1.4 billion cut in spending on helicopters when he was Chancellor.
Dozens of helicopters have had to be cannibalised in order to keep frontline aircraft flying. The figures show out of a fleet of 40 Chinook transporters, only 17 are "fit for purpose", while 20 out of 60 new Merlin work properly and only 25 Apache attack helicopters are functioning - almost a third of the total.
Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said the shortage was sure to impact on capabilities in Afghanistan and Iraq. "When I visited troops in Helmand Province, in November, it became clear there was a shortage of Apaches and Chinooks to support troops on the ground," he added.
Col Bob Stewart, the former British commander in Bosnia, said the lack of basic equipment "translates into greater casualties". "If you cannot move people by air it means they have to travel by road which leads to a proportionate increase in the dangers faced," he added.
The MoD said commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan had enough helicopters to do "key tasks" although "with more they could do more".
Torygraph: Third of Army helicopters fit for the front-line (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=NB1HBVYO4HMVZQFIQMGSFF4AVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2008/01/25/nheli125.xml)
Only a third of military helicopters are fit for front-line duty, seriously hampering operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, figures have shown. The lives of soldiers, reliant on helicopters for medical evacuation in Helmand province, are being further put at risk by a 10 per cent shortfall in air crews.
The Tories, who obtained the figures from the Ministry of Defence, blamed Gordon Brown for the problems because he presided over a £1.4 billion cut in spending on helicopters when he was Chancellor.
Dozens of helicopters have had to be cannibalised in order to keep frontline aircraft flying. The figures show out of a fleet of 40 Chinook transporters, only 17 are "fit for purpose", while 20 out of 60 new Merlin work properly and only 25 Apache attack helicopters are functioning - almost a third of the total.
Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said the shortage was sure to impact on capabilities in Afghanistan and Iraq. "When I visited troops in Helmand Province, in November, it became clear there was a shortage of Apaches and Chinooks to support troops on the ground," he added.
Col Bob Stewart, the former British commander in Bosnia, said the lack of basic equipment "translates into greater casualties". "If you cannot move people by air it means they have to travel by road which leads to a proportionate increase in the dangers faced," he added.
The MoD said commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan had enough helicopters to do "key tasks" although "with more they could do more".