LAWS CALLS ON GOVERNMENT TO BRING FORWARD NEW HELICOPTER ORDERS

24 Nov
2009

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David Laws, MP for Yeovil Constituency, speaking after the Defence Debate on the Queen’s Speech in Parliament this week, has called on the Government to act swiftly to increase the number of military helicopters and to upgrade older helicopters such as the Puma and Sea King. David spoke to Defence Secretary, Bob Ainsworth MP, after the defence debate to ask when an announcement on new helicopter orders could be expected.

David Laws MP said:

“The Government has started to take the issue of helicopters more seriously – with the £1bn order for the new “Wildcat” (Future Lynx) helicopter, the Merlin helicopter deployment to Afghanistan, and with the upgrading of the Lynx Mark 9 aircraft. All this is welcome, and the employees at Westland helicopters are doing everything they can to meet the tight timelines set for aircraft delivery.

“However, we cannot afford to wait for the Defence Review after a General Election before taking further action to strengthen our helicopter forces. The truth is that we will and do need more of most types of helicopter – more “Wildcats”, more heavy lift helicopters, and more Merlin/EH101 aircraft.

“In particular, the Puma and Sea King aircraft have now been in service for many decades, and rather than patching them up for a few more years, the Government would do well to purchase extra Merlin/EH101 helicopters – a decision which should be made as soon as possible.

“At present, we continue to have too many helicopter types, and this makes maintenance and provision of spares more complicated than it should be. We should be looking to move swiftly to a

situation where the UK armed forces concentrate on just four main helicopter types – Wildcat/Lynx, Merlin/EH101, Apache and Chinook.

“Given the importance of having enough helicopters available – not least in Afghanistan – it is vital that Ministers act swiftly. Waiting 6 months to hold a Review after a General Election could mean simply that we waste time and that our troops in Afghanistan never secure the scale of helicopter back-up which they really need.”

ENDS.

Category: MP Press Releases