Topic: Canada to lease Russian-made helicopters: MacKay

[Technoviking [2]]

Defence Minister Peter MacKay says Canada will lease six to eight Russian-built helicopters to ferry troops around the battlefield in Afghanistan until it can purchase new U.S. aircraft.
He describes it as a stopgap measure.
Securing helicopter transport to get soldiers off the bomb-laced roads of Kandahar was a principal condition when Parliament extended the combat mission until 2011.
MacKay says a deal to purchase six CH-47-D Chinooks from the U.S. Army has been worked out, but those heavy-lift aircraft will not arrive until late this year -- or early next.
More here.

[Jammer]

MR,
I'll take my chances in my Bison....

[Eye In The Sky]

I saw some interesting footage on youtube of the Hip just now.   

[GUNS]

Who will be operating the helicopters, us or them?

[Technoviking [2]]

I imagine "they" would, since it would take longer than to the end of the current year to train the crews, maintainers, etc.

[Mid Aged Silverback]

Well......I don't know what to think  about this........one part says "YES!!" the other part goes....."YIKES!!!"

[geo [3]]

well... if it gets troops & supplies off the road - moving them from KAF to the various FOBs without the risk of IEDs.... so much the better.  What took us so long ?

[Retired AF Guy]

Since the article mentions that we are "leasing" the choppers, that implies that we are getting civilian helicopters vice
borrowing" some from our NATO allies (E.g. the Poles, Hungarians, Czechs).  If that's the case then the choppers have to be brought up to NATO standards in relation to safety, communications eqpt, EW gear, etc. Also, we have to train the pilots be trained according to Canadian/NATO flying standards. Seems like a lot of work to me. Will have to wait I guess, until more details become available.

[Kat Stevens [4]]

Hope they get a decent paint job, too.  That old WP paint pattern wouldn't go over too well zipping around the Afghan skies after all these years, I would think.   

[Jammer]

Hmmm....
Flashback to the Soviet occupation days

[Colin P]

I wonder if the Poles might operate them for us? They already fly them in Iraq
http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2636875810100232605BYTJQt

Also they have this
http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?t=105211&page=4

Also
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=e16_1212804101

This also allows me to post some Polish Hind Porn, can we start a "Canada should buy the Hind' thread yet again? 
http://www.leechvideo.com/video/view245175.html

[milnews.ca [4]]

Slight hijack - MSM says UK is considering a similar plan....

Forces may have to rent helicopters
By Kim Sengupta, The Independent (UK), 31 Jul 08

British forces are so short of helicopters in Afghanistan and Iraq that they are considering renting them from other countries, or even from the controversial US security contractor Blackwater.

As a roadside bomb in Afghanistan's Helmand province claimed the life of another UK paratrooper, The Independent has learnt that the Ministry of Defence will hold a crisis meeting at 5pm today to discuss leasing helicopters from former Warsaw Pact countries as well as commercial companies.

Chaired by the Defence Secretary Des Browne, the summit will be attended by senior military and government personnel who will be expected to solve the acute helicopter shortage.

Nato, but not Britain directly, is believed to be negotiating with Blackwater, which has come under fierce criticism from the Iraqi government and the US Congress after 17 civilians were shot dead in Baghdad last year. Another option being explored by the MoD is leasing Cougar helicopters from oil companies involved in offshore production.....

More on link

And now, back to your regularly scheduled thread...

[geo [3]]

Tony... not much of a hijack there.... just points out that this kind of resource (tactical airlift helicopters) is scarce.  The kind of war that the TB have been conducting - using mines & IEDs has crated a situation where helicpoters are essential.  Canada, the UK and pert much all other countries (possibly excluding the US) are woefully short of resources.

[TrexLink]

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/470237


[size=12pt]Helicopters, drones leased to help troops, MacKay says

Jul 31, 2008 04:30 AM

Bruce Campion-Smith
TheStar.com
Ottawa Bureau

LÉVIS, QUE.–Canada is leasing up to eight Russian-built helicopters to fly troops around southern Afghanistan and protect them from the threat of roadside bombs and ambushes, Defence Minister Peter MacKay says.

MacKay described the move yesterday as a stopgap measure until Canada takes delivery of American-built Chinook transport choppers.

As well, Canada is leasing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for reconnaissance over the Afghan battlefield until it gets possession of the drones it wants to purchase.

Supplying choppers and aerial drones was a condition placed on the government in return for Parliament's endorsement of extending the Afghan mission to 2011.

"We've made progress in that regard," MacKay said during a meeting of the Conservative caucus.

"In the near future, we'll purchase tactical lift helicopters and we'll also have UAVs at the disposal of the Canadian Forces to provide greater oversight of the routes that soldiers and civilians have been travelling."

Canada has finalized a deal to buy six CH-47-D Chinooks from the U.S. Army, but those aren't expected to be delivered until early next year, he said. In the interim, Canada intends to lease between six and eight MI-8 transport choppers, "performing much the same purpose as the Chinooks would."

However, no details were given about the lease arrangements or when the choppers could be in service in the Kandahar region.

The new drones and choppers will mean an extra 200 armed forces personnel will be sent to Afghanistan, but MacKay made it clear that Canada's contribution, which includes 2,500 soldiers, stops there.

He reiterated the demand that other NATO nations step up with contributions of troops and equipment in southern Afghanistan.

"We're doing our bit. We're doing enough," MacKay said. [/size]

[NFLD Sapper [2]]

Just to add.....


PUBLICATION:  GLOBE AND MAIL
IDN:          082130182
DATE:         2008.07.31
PAGE:         A9
BYLINE:       MURRAY BREWSTER
SECTION:      National News             
SOURCE:       CP
EDITION:      Metro
DATELINE:     Ottawa ONT                       
WORDS:        600
WORD COUNT:     512

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MILITARY HARDWARE Canada to lease Russian-built copters for use in Afghanistan, MacKay says

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 MURRAY BREWSTER   The Canadian Press   OTTAWA Canada will lease up to eight Russian-built helicopters to ferry supplies around the battlefield in Afghanistan until it gets new U.S. choppers, Defence Minister Peter MacKay says.

  It is a stopgap measure meant to get Canadian army supply convoys off the bomb-laced roads of Kandahar, where explosives have been taking an increasingly deadly toll.

Securing helicopter transport was a principal condition of the Manley commission report on Canada's future role in Afghanistan last winter and a key caveat of Parliament's extension of the combat mission until 2011. The Conservative government was given until February, 2009, to come up with the helicopters and a flight of unmanned surveillance planes.

  A $375-million deal to acquire six CH-47D Chinooks from the U.S.

Army has been worked out, but those heavy-lift aircraft will not arrive until late this year - or early next.

  In the meantime, Mr. MacKay said, the Defence Department has worked out a lease involving "six to eight" Russian-made Mi-8 choppers.

  The former Soviet-era helicopters "have similar capacity to a Chinook," Mr. MacKay told reporters heading yesterday into the Conservative caucus summer retreat in Levis, Que.

  "So they're heavy-lift. ... They'll be used to transport materials along the same routes, performing much the same purpose [as] the Chinooks would."   The Mi-8s are, in fact, considered a medium-lift helicopter and date back in their original design to the 1960s. They were a familiar sight in the skies of Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation.

  Mr. MacKay would not say what former Soviet Bloc country - or private company - would provide the aircraft, nor was the cost of the lease made public.

  An official in the minister's office said a detailed formal announcement will be made next week.

  The NATO mission in Afghanistan has suffered from a shortage of troop- and supply-helicopter support.

  The military alliance was put in the embarrassing position late last year of approving the lease of private helicopters and fixed-wing planes for supply missions at remote desert and mountain-top bases.

  Member countries were unwilling to risk their own aircraft and crews on perilous missions.

  The Canadian army is one of the only major troop-contributing countries in Afghanistan without its own dedicated helicopter support and the Conservatives have struggled for over two years to acquire U.S.-made CH-47s.

  If the leased Mi-8 helicopters come from another NATO country, such as Hungary or Slovakia, they would be able to carry both troops and equipment.

  But Mr. MacKay's careful choice of words and reference to "materials" suggests the rentals will likely belong to a private company, a defence analyst said.

  "They're not certified to transport our personnel, except of course in an emergency, so they would be leased to transport equipment only," said Alain Pellerin, executive director of the Conference of Defence Associations.

  Last winter, Poland offered Canada access to two of its Mi-17 battlefield transport helicopters, part of its increased commitment to the Afghan mission.

  They were expected to arrive this summer, but military officials have privately expressed concern about availability.

  Polish special forces soldiers operating in Kandahar would have first call on the choppers, not Canadians.

  Another key condition for remaining in Afghanistan, the purchase of unmanned surveillance drones, is also well in hand, Mr. MacKay said.

  A deal, possibly worth $100-million, to lease a flight of unmanned aerial vehicles - or UAVs - from MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. and Israeli Air Industries Ltd. was expected to be approved this week by the federal cabinet.

ADDED SEARCH TERMS:

GEOGRAPHIC NAME: Canada; Afghanistan

SUBJECT TERM:defence; helicopters; strife; political;                      foreign policy

ORGANIZATION NAME: Armed Forces