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Future Common Helicopter Fleet AC/CG/NS/Ambulance/Garda
That is the OEM Huey II program based on the single engine UH-1H where they remanufacture and zero hour the airframe, uprated Honeywell T53-L-703 engine, new rotor hub and blades, glass cockpit and a number of off the shelf components from the Bell 212. A tough, dependable jack of all trades that can be airlifted by a C-130 that represents the best value for money military chopper in my view. You can literally buy 5 Huey II's with a training, spares and support package for the price of one NH-90 airframe and the cpfh is a 1/3.
The UH-1Y Venom is based on the later twin Huey UH-1N. Better but more expensive.
A thousand hours a year is busy for a helicopter, so it'd use up quite a bit of downtime in that year for maintenance. You do a thousand hours and you are getting into serious part changes, of lifed items and into deep inspections.
The 1000 hours are what the US Army are calculating with and what they have designed the aircraft for. It has a deign life of 25,000 hours over 25 years. Given there high rate of utilisation over the past years this might not be far off the mark. Comparing the maintenance cost of a Mike with a Lime there is more than a 50% difference which could indicate higher utilisation.
The figure are not mine but from the responsible US Army Program Office.
Given our small size would a future common helicopter fleet, along the Dutch or Danish model, offer substantial advantages?
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Both the Danes and the Dutch operate a heavy/medium model.
Danes: AW101 and MH60R
Dutch: CH47F and NH90 (they also have AH64D just to round out the force)
France has just announced that they are replacing the Gazelle, Alouette III, Panther, Dolphin, Fennec and Puma in all 3 services with the Airbus H160M Cheetah
France has just announced that they are replacing the Gazelle, Alouette III, Panther, Dolphin, Fennec and Puma in all 3 services with the Airbus H160M Cheetah
The plan was announced some years ago, today they have announced that the program will be brought forward, should mean that it is available when we need to replace our AW139s. https://www.verticalmag.com/press-re...opter-forward/
There will be a ship-board version also which might mean VARD have to change what is sitting on the flight deck of their MRV!
The plan was announced some years ago, today they have announced that the program will be brought forward, should mean that it is available when we need to replace our AW139s. https://www.verticalmag.com/press-re...opter-forward/
There will be a ship-board version also which might mean VARD have to change what is sitting on the flight deck of their MRV!
Why would we replace the AW139s (which can carry 8 in troop seats) with one that can carry 5 ?
Thanks but the ones the French are getting are 2 pilots and 5 troops
If we wanted we could also configure the AW139 for 2 pilots and 5 troops also.
Fact is that both have the same size internal cabin and can be configured as the user wants.
The French do not intend them as their primary troop transport for that they have NH90 rather they would be used for SF insertion.
The UK coast guard are replacing their 139s with 189s for SAR work......re the French replacement post above, it's essentially bringing the greater mass of the fleet out of the 1970s and 80s. The manufacturer is probably fed up with having to keep making parts for legacy aircraft and will be quite happy to see the back of them.
Back in the 2001 White paper, there was a plan to have 3 types of Heli in the Defence Forces.
LUH (Light Utility Helicopter) for Pilot training, liason, and other tasks as required. Replacing the job then being done by Gazelle. Also being able to train pilots for GASU, who then used the Twin Squirrel.
UH (Utility Helicopter) for troop transport, VIP transport, air ambulance etc. Replacing the job once done by Alouette III and Dauphin
MLH (Medium Lift Helicopter) for troop transport and SAR, back when we did that. Replacing the job once done by the Puma we had for a wet weekend, and the S61 we had for a similarly short moment in time.
LUH became the EC135 (Now the Airbus H135) at a time when GASU also started using EC135, though theirs had a different powerplant.
UH became the Green painted civvy air taxi that is the AW139, painted to look like what is now an AW149.
MLH died a death. We selected the S92, but the makers of the Super puma Mk2 (which did not yet exist) were unhappy with the tender process, so we got none, and the cash was spent on Mowags for Cav instead. In the meantime, the Air Corps lost Search and rescue completely.
Do not concern yourself with what France choses. It will do whatever its Aircraft industry tells them to do. They will only select a french designed, built or partly french designed/built aircraft. Not because it is right for the role. Thing is, the Armee de l'Air, Marine Nationale and ALAT will take an originally unsuitable aircraft, and get the manufacturers to tweak it to fit their purpose properly, because of the volume of aircraft they will procure. We do not have that luxury.
For now, everything hangs on implementation of the CoDF report.
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