A news release from the party pings into my inbox:
Almost 2/3rd of the RAF’s Merlin helicopters, which the Government has hailed as a key part of increasing capacity and ‘ideally suited’ to Afghanistan, are incapable of carrying out their planned missions, according to figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats.
Answers to Parliamentary Questions have shown that of the 19 RAF Merlins in the ‘Forward Fleet’ (those aircraft which frontline commands are meant to be able to use), just seven – or 37% – are classed as ‘available’ (defined as ‘considered capable of carrying out their planned missions on a given date’).
The answers also showed that only half (23 out of 46) of the Army’s Apache attack helicopters which were meant to be available to frontline commands actually were available.
Commenting, Liberal Democrat Defence Spokesperson, Willie Rennie said:
“These alarming figures undermine the Government’s claim to have hugely increased helicopter capacity in Afghanistan.
“Bob Ainsworth has praised the capability and importance of the Merlin helicopters sent to Afghanistan. But now we find that two thirds of those helicopters which are supposed to be available to front line commanders simply are not.
“Labour has short-changed our troops for too long. They should focus on properly supporting our brave men and women on the front line instead of spinning on the number of helicopters available. We need a fair deal for our troops.”
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4 Comments
Actually the real story here is that the demand that we should have more helicopters, to be paid for at the expense of other parts of the defence budget is a symptom of the unaffordability of our commitments in Afghanistan.
It is absurd that despite previous defence reviews that determine how we should best allocate funds for defence, the current British government is reprioritising in order to tackle Afghanistan, despite the consequences of what that means elsewhere.
And given the very long time scales we are given before we can expect – if that is the right word – for any long term solution, who is to say that as the US/UK suffer further setbacks there will be more demands on military hardware?
The LIberal Democrats should not be campaigning to make this war more expensive. There are parts of Afghanistan, ie most of it, where the fight is more trouble than it is worth. In those parts, we should withdraw.
We stopped being a superpower many years ago, and today the US is also a steeply declining world power. When it comes to foreign policy Liberal Democrats should be opening a debate to determine what we can and cannot do in the world, and if that means standing up to Barack Obama as a critical friend, then so be it. The question of course is whether the party has the nerve to do so.
No sign of it yet.
The deployment of the pledged by the Government most number of helicopters would and will help maximise the troop manoeuvres in Afghanistan, especially where the Merlin helicopter is known to be suitable for the terrain.
The Government should come clean and inform our servicemen/woman that it is unable to meet helicopter capability giving the reasons why so many of them are not being deployed in the combat and transit zones.
A couple of observations on what the figures mean, which shouldn’t be difficult for Cowley Street to find out themselves.
There are a whole host of reasons why airframes might be at a lower level of availability, including routine preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance, safety checks or awaiting a post maintenance inspection. Any of those can take an airframe from available to x hours, or even days, notice to become available. That notice to become available may be as short as 20 minutes.
What’s more useful to know about is how many airframes have been at several hours notice for a significant amount of time. That would suggest an issue in terms of workshop or spares availability.
Rotary wing has a huge maintenance requirement, every hour spent in the air requires quite a lot of time in the hanger. If the time in the hanger is reduced then the risk of a problem increases.
So which is preferable, skimping on maintenance to keep availability high, with an increase in accidents, or doing the maintenance properly and letting the aircrew do their jobs properly, and safely?
The only way many of us will continue to vote for the LibDems, which we passionately want to do,is if the party comes out with a strong statement that it will immediately begin troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, recognising that the UK is there for the wrong reasons, shedding too much blood on both sides and only achieving the making of more enemies for the country.
The country thinks this (in addition to the fact that we can’t afford it!), and it needs a major party to voice its feelings.
Please.