New helicopters for FOST

Arguably the least-known helicopter unit in the British military is located at the Cornwall Newquay Airport. A pair of AS365N2 Dauphin helicopters are operated by the Fleet Helicopter Support Unit (FHSU), mainly in support of the Flag Officer Fleet Training (FOST) in the South Coast Exercise Areas (SCXAs).

The Dauphin helicopters (ZJ164 and ZJ165) have been in use since October 1997, but ZJ164 was confirmed in long-term storage at Newquay in August 2023.

On 25 April 2022, the Royal Navy released a Request for Information (RFI) for a replacement helicopter which besides the primary FOST mission possibly will also be used for land-based maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) in support of maritime Counter-Terrorism Training (MCT) and to transport personnel and/or cargo to the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers and other UK based Royal Navy vessels around the United Kingdom.

Under the SAR/MCT task, six exercises per year are to be supported from an United Kingdom airfield. Each exercise will last up to one week. For the personnel and/or cargo transport duties to Royal Navy vessels, about 100 flying hours per year are to be provided. The new contract is to commence on 1 April 2026, with a running time of five years. Options will be included in the contract to extend the contract further once it expires.

In November 2023, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced the AW139 to be the preferred option to replace the pair of Dauphins in the future. A final decision has not yet been made, allowing potential suppliers to offer similar options, as long as Ship-Air Integration burden is not an issue.

Credit photo: Nicholas Hoenich (Scramble Archive)