British Struggle Over Helo Deployment Timing
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Douglas Barrie/London
The British government has examined -- and rejected -- the idea of accelerating planned deployment of the Merlin transport helicopter to Afghanistan, once eyed for December.
It is continuing to examine whether the provision of additional Chinooks can be advanced.
The government is under pressure from both the military and the political opposition over the support for British forces deployed in theater. The limited number of support helicopters deployed with the U.K. force -- now totaling 9,000 personnel -- has repeatedly been criticized.
Bob Ainsworth, the British secretary of state for defense, told Parliament: "I will not put Merlins into Afghanistan before they are ready -- before the crews are trained and the blades, defensive suites and night vision are fitted."
Ainsworth asserted he has solicited widespread opinion on the matter. "We cannot put Merlins in Afghanistan before December this year if we want a good, safe and capable force. We cannot bring that forward. I have talked to many people about whether we can, but we cannot."
Ainsworth said he would look again at whether the government can bring eight untasked Chinooks that it bought into service quicker. "Our plan is to get additional Chinooks out there next summer, and if we can do it more quickly, we will," he said.
The Chinooks were ordered in 1995 to meet a Special Forces requirement. However because of validation issues on some of the aircraft's systems, a military aircraft release could not be provided. Eventually the ministry decided to refit the avionics on the eight airframes to allow then to be introduced into service. The work is underway with the first modified aircraft now flying.
Gen. Richard Dannatt, the head of the British Army, also has been pushing for additional resources for operations in Afghanistan soon. Dannatt told the British Broadcasting Corp. that the Defense Ministry might need to "re-order internal priorities" to provide more funding for combat operations in the near term. He recognized that such a move would not be welcome by all in the ministry.
Dannatt, who steps down from his post at the end of the month, also cautioned that a unilateral U.K. withdrawal from Afghanistan would have a very damaging impact on London's relationship with Washington, and would also "severely prejudice the future well-being of NATO."
Photo credit: Lockheed
