Large numbers of attack and transport helicopters have been destroyed during the current unpleasantness in Ukraine,but of the three helicopters proposed herein for An Independent Army For An Independent Nation,Hector,Hercules and Hermes,Hector shall be used only for training and other light duties within the domestic base area and Hercules shall be used for both training and operational tasks but not for combat tasks,however,thanks to it's large useful load and long range weapons and sensors,Hermes shall be able to land ground troops,with protected vehicles,and attack air and surface targets from tens of miles beyond the threat of hostile air defence systems,unlike the Apache attack helicopter,which has a large signature in the visual,thermal,acoustic and radio spectrums and which must fly at low altitude and slow speed within five miles of the enemy in order to use it's short range weapons,and the Puma transport helicopter (or whatever it's replacement may be),which must deploy troops close to the enemy because it lacks the payload to carry protected vehicles,those who fail to study history shall be doomed to repeat it,but those who study physics shall know the future.
Further to an earlier piece on rationalising the United Kingdom's naval and military combat helicopter fleet,herein we shall list the only helicopter types which the United Kingdom's armed forces actually need (rather than have or want).
The Hector shall be a helicopter of approximately three long tons maximum take off weight used for both naval and military initial helicopter pilot training and for other non combat tasks for which a larger helicopter is unneccessary or impractical such as the Trinity House (lighthouse support) and police force (surveillance) charters.
The Hector shall be a modified existing type,such as the elderly AW109 or AW119,or an all new aircraft designed and built in the United Kingdom to stimulate the United Kingdom's economy and secure the future of the United Kingdom's helicopter industry.
Picture: Grand Logistics
The Hercules shall be a modified existing type,such as the AW139M or AW169M,or an all new aircraft designed and built in the United Kingdom to stimulate the United Kingdom's economy and secure the future of the United Kingdom's helicopter industry,in the interim AW159 Wildcats may perform some of the roles of the Hercules.
The Hermes,or Ultra Merlin,shall be a helicopter of approximately twenty long tons maximum take off weight used for both military and naval combat and for non combat tasks which require a large helicopter such as the Waterguard Service (search and rescue),Home Office (secure transport) and Foreign Office (hospital ship) charters.
The Hermes helicopter shall be a Super Merlin helicopter with a new,longer,composite air frame (Super Merlin being a twenty long ton class helicopter which combines the air frame of the Merlin's transport variant with larger rotors,uprated engines and transmission and systems capable of detecting,identifying,tracking and engaging air,surface and submarine targets) designed and built in the United Kingdom to stimulate the United Kingdom's economy and secure the future of the United Kingdom's helicopter industry.
