The German Armed Forces has taken another significant step in supporting Ukraine in its Ukraine in its defensive campaign against Russia by announcing the provision of six Sea King Mk41 multi-purpose helicopters as a gift – for the time being. This was announced by Federal Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius on 23 January at the 18th Ramstein Format.
Germany is the second largest supporter of Ukraine after the USAbut this decision marks the first time that Berlin has supplied helicopters to Ukraine. Minister Pistorius named the Sea King Mk41 (originally Sikorsky H-3 or S-61) a “proven and robust helicopter, it will help Ukraine in many areas”. In addition to the helicopters, Germany will also provide accessory and spare parts packages as well as appropriate training for the Ukrainian crews. The latter will certainly be made easier by the fact that the Ukrainians already have three ex-British “sister machines”. have. The helicopters are scheduled to be handed over from the second quarter of this year. https://militaeraktuell.at/es-wird-in-zukunft-stuermisch-werden/ Ideal for the Black Sea
The aircraft, which were built by Westland between 1972 and 1975 for the German navy and have a range of around 1,500 kilometers and a radar dome, are likely to be used primarily for reconnaissance, for example over the Black Sea, and logistics during the war. Although they can be armed with an M3M heavy machine gun and decoy launchers for self-protection, the aircraft are decidedly not combat helicopters but heavy multi-purpose helicopters (MTOW 9.3 tons). In addition to the three or four-man crew, the 22-meter-long aircraft can accommodate a maximum of 20 passengers. One special feature is its design as an amphibious helicopter. Its hull shape and outriggers allow it to take to the water in calm seas. As a rule, however, the crew uses the built-in rescue winch. If the Sea King has to make an emergency landing at sea in bad weather, floating bodies provide it with the additional buoyancy it needs to stay afloat.
The Sea Kings have been providing the Bundeswehr’s SAR service at sea from Nordholz (formerly Holtenau), Kiel, Helgoland and Warnemünde (Baltic Sea) for five decades now. As onboard helicopters of the class 702 task force supply helicopters, they were also deployed in Africa (Djibouti, Ivory Coast), in Asia (tsunami disaster) and as part of UNIFIL off Lebanon. Their replacement – after years of delay – is the NH90 NTH Sea Lion built in Donauwörth. The 18th and last one was delivered to the German Navy at the beginning of 2023 and took up its Search And Rescue (SAR) role on July 6 of the previous year.
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