01174 621101
The UK Government has donated two Sea King helicopters tothe Ukraine that do not carry any weapons or fly particularly fast, and which are no longer used by the Royal Navy.
Used over 40-years ago, the Sea Kings played a fundamental part in the Falklands conflict and despite its age, the Ukrainian military says the aircraft will help in the war against Russia.
So why is Britain giving Ukraine such old helicopters?
The Sea King helicopters were build in Yeovil and utilised the outstanding products within the Southwest supply chain.
The helicopters have spent much of their lives carrying out search and rescue operations – for civilians as well as service personnel – and have been familiar sights over Britain’s coasts.
The Sea Kings are indeed old, but they have gone through so much modernisation that they are in fact mostly new, with very little of the original helicopter remaining. This makes them undeniably a practical, reliable aircraft that can do whatever is asked of it when delivering urgent medical help, move special forces into position, fetch and carry equipment and pick up casualties needing attention.
The Sea Kings are of a similar age to several other helicopters used by Ukraine’s armed forces and as such the pilots are familiar with aircraft of that vintage, making their training easier.
The Sea King helicopters were build in Yeovil and utilised the outstanding products within the Southwest supply chain.
Would you like to become a WEAF member?
As a WEAF member you will get full access to exclusive and valuable information, plus greater networking opportunities.
Being part of the WEAF community means becoming part of one of the largest aerospace, defence and advanced engineering clusters in Europe.
Joining WEAF will bring you exclusive and valuable benefits in all areas of this fast growing industry.
