Ex-Canadian helicopter still going strong for Dutch air force

[tigershark]

Ex-Canadian helicopter still going strong for Dutch air force
Graham Thomson, Canwest News Service
Published: Saturday, July 12, 2008

The Dutch are certainly not trying to rub Canada's face in it -- but there's at least a touch of irony in a recent ceremony at Kandahar Airfield for a Royal Netherlands Air Force helicopter that passed its 10,000th hour of operations.

The old workhorse of an aircraft once belonged to Canada, until this country sold off its entire fleet of Chinooks to the Dutch as a cost-cutting effort in the early 1990s.

Now, while Canadian soldiers wait for a squadron of their own new helicopters to airlift them over the bomb-infested roads of Kandahar province, the Dutch are happily using our old fleet.

"Over here, I think it's the only helicopter that matters," said Maj. Remy of the Dutch air force, who would not give his last name for security reasons. "I'm not saying that (just) because I fly the Chinook, but everything actually is dependent upon the Chinooks."

The rugged choppers are able to lift heavy loads of equipment and troops that otherwise would have to be transported by convoys of armoured vehicles, which are attacked with disturbing frequency by insurgents. The majority of Canada's fatalities have been the result of roadside bombs and suicide attacks.

Several federal papers, including the Manley commission report, have strongly pressed the Canadian government to deploy dedicated battlefield helicopters.

But getting the helicopters is proving problematic.

A $4-billion program to buy new Chinooks has been troubled by delays, and the government has scrambled to buy six used Chinooks from the U.S. army that won't be available until later this year or in early 2009.

The Chinook Maj. Remy flies is revered by Dutch pilots for its stamina. Not only was it celebrated a few weeks ago for flying more than 10,000 hours, it survived a near-disastrous incident over the North Atlantic in 1995 that prompted pilots to paint the name "Red October" on its nose after the movie about a Russian submarine.

This Chinook has otherwise never had a major problem. In fact, all seven of the Chinooks the Mulroney government sold to the Dutch air force are still flying today.

The "Red October" is 34 years old but was completely refitted by the Dutch with computerized avionics and has become something of a celebrity in the aviation world as an example of how to upgrade aging aircraft.

Even Canadian military officials have poked their head inside for a look.

"I think it was two years ago Canada came by to check out the Chinook -- because I know you're in the process of buying some of them -- and they couldn't even recognize their own Chinook once they saw inside," said Maj. Remy.

If it was galling for Canadian military officials to have to kick the tires of one of their old aircraft, they're not letting on.

They're also trying to play down expectations that helicopters will be a panacea for roadside bombings.

There will always be a need for convoys, said Capt. Ludger Hacault with 2 Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry from Shiloh, Man.

"Helicopters are not going to fix everything," said Hacault. "It's a dangerous business that we're in. ... You can't just fly everywhere, you have to make contact with people."

Source
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=0dbf372e-4c6b-41ad-89bb-d30e45411065

[Webmaster]

I think the Dutch military rightly recognized the need for more capable helicopters in the early 1990s. The Cougars, Chinooks and Apaches have been busy ever since they were acquired. That some of those Chinooks came from Canada is just tough for them, but otherwise we'd have gotten more from the US Army or Italy for example. A lot of money has been put into modernising them and then even more money in fitting them with the self protection gear for Afghanistan.

The majority of Dutch victims have also been the result of roadside bombs/suicide attacks... a couple of Chinooks doesn't mean you don't have to go out on the road anymore. And besides, we lost two Chinooks in Afghanistan and the Dutch also want to buy more Chinooks.

Maybe in a few years time, the Netherlands will regret selling its P-3 Orions to Germany and Portugal, when a submarine threat reoccurs, or maybe even sooner when we'll see the modernized Canadian P-3s on duty in Afghanistan.

When selling something which still has great potential, it's always tough when it turns out you need them a few years down the road.