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More: http://www.pprune.org/military-aircrew/ ... -nh90.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;The British Army’s SAS may get ten NHIndustries NH90 helicopters.
Gary Parsons - 14-Jun-2010
The UK newspaper Mail on Sunday says that the British Army’s Special Forces regiment, the Special Air Service (SAS), is to get ten NHIndustries NH90 helicopters as part of the upcoming strategic defence review.
The new helicopters, worth £100 million, would be used in Afghanistan by the SAS’s Counter-Revolutionary Warfare Unit (CRW). It would be a boost for the NH90 programme, which has suffered a recent setback with a report by the German military in February saying the type had “range of deficiencies”.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z0qkdOZUFX" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
These plans are not exactly new though...However, one piece of good news expected in the review is that the SAS is to get ten new helicopters worth £100 million.
The order for the twin-engined European-built NH90s will boost operations in Afghanistan, where commanders have long demanded more capability to airlift troops.
But the Special Forces would have preferred the more expensive US-built Black Hawks, which are seen as tougher and more reliable.
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_8 ... n37301906/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
SAS ghost squadron; New 'stealth' helicopters will guard against attack on UK
Mail on Sunday (London, England), The, August 22, 2004
Byline: MARTIN DELGADO
THE SAS has been handed a spectacular new weapon to deploy in the fight against terror - a squadron of 'phantom' helicopters.
The craft - each costing [pounds sterling]50 million - can operate in any weather and are ideally suited to covert operations because they emit a very low electronic signal, making them hard to detect.
With the country under continuing threat from Al-Qaeda, four of the NH90 helicopters - dubbed 'stealth machines' - are being provided for the SAS after military chiefs were given permission by Ministers to buy whatever equipment they needed for the rapid deployment of special forces.
The high-tech NH-90s, which will go into service with the SAS's top-secret Counter-Revolutionary Warfare Unit, the CRW, will be on permanent standby to respond instantly to any terrorist assault on Britain's internal security.
The helicopters can carry 20 soldiers and are fitted with impactresistant, self-sealing fuel tanks to avoid an explosion in a crash.
The pilot's helmet incorporates a display screen that replicates the aircraft's instrument panel, enabling him to 'multitask' during the flight.
The crew are also assisted by a special computer allowing them to fly with pinpoint accuracy at night and avoid low-level power lines.
It has a rear ramp and two huge side doors where machine guns can be mounted, though its main purpose is to carry troops and equipment rather than mount heavily armed attacks.