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UK orders 22 Chinook transport helicopters
Source: Agencies |
December 16, 2009, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
BRITAIN said yesterday it was to buy 22 Chinook transport helicopters to aid its military operations in Afghanistan but is expected to cut spending in other areas to balance a stretched defence budget.
One hundred British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this year and the Labour government has been criticized for failing to provide enough helicopters to transport its soldiers, leaving them vulnerable to attacks by roadside bombs.
The Chinook is a twin-rotor, heavy-lift helicopter made by United States company Boeing. The order will expand Britain's fleet of Chinooks to 70, with the first of the new batch coming off the production line in 2012 and entering service in 2013.
British forces took delivery of 14 Chinooks in 2001, but eight could not be used because software source code needed to certify their airworthiness was not supplied.
Those eight helicopters are expected to be in service by the end of 2010 after modifications.
Britain, which holds an election next year, is facing a record budget deficit this year of 178 billion pounds (US$290 billion). The BBC reported that a Royal Air Force base could be shut and thousands of defence jobs lost as the government rebalances its spending.
Other media reports said there could be reductions in Britain's force of Tornado and Harrier jets and a cutback in the Royal Navy fleet.
A parliamentary spending watchdog warned yesterday the defence budget falls at least 6 billion pounds short of spending commitments on aircraft, ships and other equipment.
The National Audit Office said the shortfall over the next decade would rise to 36 billion pounds - equivalent to a full year's military budget - if defence spending was frozen.
The watchdog said defence chiefs were slowing major procurement projects to achieve short-term savings at the cost of greater overall expense.
One hundred British soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan this year and the Labour government has been criticized for failing to provide enough helicopters to transport its soldiers, leaving them vulnerable to attacks by roadside bombs.
The Chinook is a twin-rotor, heavy-lift helicopter made by United States company Boeing. The order will expand Britain's fleet of Chinooks to 70, with the first of the new batch coming off the production line in 2012 and entering service in 2013.
British forces took delivery of 14 Chinooks in 2001, but eight could not be used because software source code needed to certify their airworthiness was not supplied.
Those eight helicopters are expected to be in service by the end of 2010 after modifications.
Britain, which holds an election next year, is facing a record budget deficit this year of 178 billion pounds (US$290 billion). The BBC reported that a Royal Air Force base could be shut and thousands of defence jobs lost as the government rebalances its spending.
Other media reports said there could be reductions in Britain's force of Tornado and Harrier jets and a cutback in the Royal Navy fleet.
A parliamentary spending watchdog warned yesterday the defence budget falls at least 6 billion pounds short of spending commitments on aircraft, ships and other equipment.
The National Audit Office said the shortfall over the next decade would rise to 36 billion pounds - equivalent to a full year's military budget - if defence spending was frozen.
The watchdog said defence chiefs were slowing major procurement projects to achieve short-term savings at the cost of greater overall expense.
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