Canada Armed Forces Retiring Sea King on December 1st

The Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Armed Forces, Royal Canadian Air Force, and Canada will say farewell to the workhorse of the air force, the CH-124 Sea King helicopter in late November/early December 2018.
This ship-borne maritime helicopter has been in operation serving Canada since 1963.
In honour of this historic finale, the Royal Canadian Air Force is inviting current and former military members, their families, and government dignitaries to join them in Victoria, BC, for a two-day retirement event.
The celebration starts with a Friday 30th November ‘Meet and Greet’ at CFB Esquimalt’s Wardroom; followed the next day by a Sea King Retirement Parade at 443 MH Squadron and Sea King Ceremonial Fly Past on the 443 MH Squadron Flightline in Pat Bay, and; ending on a high note with a ‘Formal Retirement Dinner’ on the Saturday evening in the 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron’s new hangar Arundel Castle.
skr18

India Could Be Interested in Canadian Navy SH-3 Sea Kings

It seems the air force's venerable CH-124 Sea King helicopters will find life after retirement from the Canadian military following six informal expressions of interest from either countries or organizations interested in buying them.
While Public Works will not reveal the potential bidders, it is known that India is one country that might want to keep flying the aircraft.
An official in Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan's office confirmed on background that the matter was raised in one of the meetings during his visit to India last spring.
The Indian navy already flies Sea Kings and is reportedly in urgent need of helicopters, according to the Financial Express, one of the country's business publications.
The introduction of the CH-148 Cyclone helicopters has allowed the Canadian air force to take 16 of its 28 Sea Kings out of service, but spokesperson Capt. Trevor Reid said they have not yet been turned over to Public Works for disposal.
The federal government began soliciting interest in selling the old helicopters in the fall of 2015. Spokesperson Pierre-Alain Bujold said National Defence has also not formally served notice that it intends to sell the helicopters.
Once that takes place there is only a limited number of buyers who would qualify.
"Due to the controlled nature of military assets, [Public Works] does not sell these assets to individual persons," said Bujold in an email. "Assets are sold exclusively to pre-approved foreign governments, original equipment manufacturers, and their licensed representatives."
The last Sea King is slated to be taken out of service in December 2018
cbc.ca

Spain To Decrease Military Helicopter Types from 14 to 4

A new helicopter master plan drawn up by the Spanish Ministry of Defence (MdD) envisages the number of different models used by the services being reduced from the current 14 to four by 2040.
Three will be from Airbus Helicopters - the NH90, the H135 (formerly EC135), and the Tiger - while the fourth will be the Boeing Chinook, which will need to be upgraded.
One of the key elements will be the navy version of the NH90, for which the Armada is seeking two variants - one a maritime transport which is not yet available, plus another for anti-submarine operations.
The Hughes 500 is due to be stood down by the Armada from 2018, to be replaced by the H135, while the Sikorsky SH-3 Sea Kings will be modernised to keep them active until the arrival of the hoped-for transport replacement.
The current modernisation programme for the Agusta-Bell AB212 will enable these to keep flying until at least 2030 from the corvette-style Buque de Acción Marítima (BAMs), while the army version of the aircraft is due to be retired by 2017.
As for the army's attack helicopters, the plan says the programme to begin phasing out the MBB Bo-105 will start soon. Now the decision has been taken that the six HAP versions of its replacement, the Tiger, will not be upgraded to the HAD-E Spanish version, from around 2027 onwards the army's airmobile forces (FAMET) will operate just 18 of the latter.
In the case of the Chinook, the MdD's aim is to upgrade from the CH-47D to CH-47F versions, with a programme office being set up to handle the proposed purchase from the United States.
The training helicopters, the Airbus H120 and the Sikorsky S-76C, are due to be taken out of service from around 2027, with the replacement almost certain to be the H135. The recent reductions in the NH90 programme will also mean modernisation programmes will be needed for the army's Airbus Super Puma and Cougar.
janes

Germany Signs Deal for 18 NFH90 To Replace Navy Sea King

Germany has finally confirmed a deal that will see it order 18 new NH Industries NH90 NFH helicopters for its navy, while at the same time trimming commitments for the troop transport variant and Airbus Helicopters Tigers.
However, the German army will now receive 80 instead of 122 NH90s, with two further airframes for training and 22 more covered by options. In addition, its order for the Tiger will fall to a total of 68 attack helicopters. However, 11 early-build examples will be immediately retired from service, with the army targeting a future frontline fleet of just 40.
Deliveries of the Sea Lion model are due to commence in 2018, as the German navy retires its fleet of Westland Sea King 41s.
Germany has a difficult relationship with the NH90, having recently temporarily grounded the 10.6t troop transport variant over safety concerns.
flightglobal

Germany proposes 'shared' multinational NH90 helicopter fleet

Germany is proposing that 22 NH90 troop transport helicopters it currently has on option could be acquired and used to form a pool of rotorcraft to be shared by NATO partners.
The concept, which it calls the “multinational helicopter unit”, is part of a broader framework agreement the nation’s defence ministry hammered out with Airbus Helicopters as it looks to formalise planned cuts to its overall NH90 order.
Berlin initially committed to 120 NH90 TTHs, but in 2013 it concluded a memorandum of understanding with the airframer – which is the majority shareholder in the NHI consortium – to cut its acquisition to 80 units with 22 options. In addition, it proposed to take 18 examples of the NFH variant for use by its navy.
However, formal ratification of the deal was put on hold.
The pact must now pass before Germany’s parliament for approval before a binding contract can be signed.
The ministry says the shortage of transport helicopters that afflicted the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force mission in Afghanistan was in part the inspiration for its plans for the shared resource.
Germany has so far taken delivery of 37 NH90s, with the latest example handed over last week. It has yet to declare full operational capability for the helicopter, with this milestone anticipated in late 2016.
If approved, the NFHs will begin to arrive from 2018 to replace the navy’s aged fleet of 20 Westland Sea King 41s.
As part of the same pact, Airbus Helicopters will now no longer buy back 11 early production examples of the Tiger UHT attack helicopter. Instead, Germany will retain them to use as donor aircraft for spare parts and cancel a separate spares acquisition.
Berlin has cut its order from 80 to 57 of the helicopters, with the operational Tiger fleet capped at 40 examples.
flightglobal

Navy Set to Pick Presidential Helicopter Contractor

The Navy plans to select the contractor who will build the next generation presidential helicopter next month.
It appears the service will only have one contractor to choose from, Sikorsky, after two other teams dropped out of the bidding process. AgustaWestland and Northrop Grumman had planned to offer the AW101 helicopter, and Boeing had discussed offering modified versions of the V-22 Osprey and the CH-47 Chinook. Both dropped out.
That would leave Sikorsky as the lone bidder with the company set to offer its S-92 helicopter to replace the aging VH-3D Sea King.
The Navy plans to build a fleet of 21 operational aircraft and 2 test aircraft for the president. Marine Helicopter Squadron One will fly the new aircraft. Full operational capability is expected in 2022 and the first test aircraft will be delivered in 2016.
The Navy’s selection of a new contractor will come five years after the former contract with Lockheed Martin and AgustaWestland to building the helicopter was canceled. Cost overruns had ballooned by so much.
The former helicopter was so advanced it was supposed to survive a nuclear blast.
Five years later the Navy is ready to start anew, likely with the same company who built the aging presidential helicopter.
dodbuzz

UK sets 2019 target for AW101 Merlin HM2 Crowsnest introduction

The UK Royal Navy will field a new-generation organic airborne early warning capability in 2019, three years after it retires the last of its aged Westland Sea Kings currently tasked with protecting its surface fleet.
Dubbed Crowsnest, the project to replace the Fleet Air Arm’s Sea King Mk7 airborne surveillance and control system helicopters had previously been due to deliver its first adapted AgustaWestland AW101 Merlin HM2s for service trials from 2020, but only to achieve full operational capability in 2022.
The introduction of Crowsnest 18 months early will ensure HMS Queen Elizabeth has the full range of capabilities when it enters service.
The UK’s last Sea King Mk7s are due to be retired in March 2016.
flightglobal

U.K. To Spend £454M On Merlin Modernization Program

AgustaWestland has been awarded a £454 million contract to transform the U.K.’s Merlin battlefield support helicopter fleet for amphibious operations.
Twenty-five of the U.K. Royal Air Force’s current fleet of 28 AgustaWestland EH101 Merlin Mk. 3 and Mk. 3A helicopters will undergo the upgrade to the Mk. 4/4A standard for the U.K. Royal Navy’s amphibious Commando Helicopter Force (CHF). The upgrade is part of the Merlin Life Sustainment Program and ship optimization project.
The upgraded Merlins will be used to replace the aging Westland Sea King Mk. 4 currently in use by the CHF, which will exit service along with all other Sea Kings in the U.K. inventory by the end of March 2016.
AgustaWestland will use its experience from the development of a naval transport version of the EH101, now the AW101 for the Italian navy. The company will remove the current tail rotor system and replace it with a folding version.
A folding main rotor head will be fitted. The aircraft will also be given strengthened landing gear, deck lashing mounting points and a new fast-roping point. In the cockpit, the aircraft will be refitted with the avionics suite used in the update of the Royal Navy’s current fleet of Merlin helicopters used for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare.
Because the program is also converting the six former Danish air force aircraft purchased by the U.K. in 2008, AgustaWestland also has to develop a common emergency egress system for use on both versions due to differences in aircraft configuration. The upgrade will give the six Danish aircraft a taste of front-line operations for the first time. In RAF service, they have been held back to support training.
The first two helicopters will enter the conversion process at the end of this year, with the first fully converted Mk. 4s expected to be available for trials in September 2017. An initial operating capability for the Merlin Mk. 4 with seven helicopters is expected in early 2018.
To provide an amphibious transport capability between the retirement of the Sea King and the introduction of the first Mk. 4 models, several Merlins will be given a folding main rotor head to allow ship-based operations, should a deployment occur. These will be known as Merlin Mk. 3i, in the interim.
aviationweek

Sea Kings could be retired sooner under proposal from US aircraft maker

Sikorsky has approached the Canadian government with a proposal to accept four CH-148 Cyclone maritime helicopters in its current configuration and gradually make them fully operational with incremental software updates.
canadianmanufacturing

AgustaWestland prepares for Norwegian AW101 demonstration

AgustaWestland expects to soon begin the AW101 flight evaluation and bid refining phase for the Norwegian all-weather search and rescue helicopter (NAWSARH) programme, following Oslo's decision to narrow its Westland Sea King replacement contest to the Anglo-Italian type and Eurocopter's EC225.
flightglobal

Canada's Sea King helicopter fleet grounded after accident

Canada’s tired fleet of Sea King helicopters has been grounded after one of the choppers toppled over at a Nova Scotia Air Force base with four people on board.
It is unknown whether the incident late Monday evening at 12 Wing Shearwater is related to the age of the helicopter. Investigators from the military’s Directorate of Flight Safety were called to determine what happened and whether the rest of the fleet could experience the same problem.
theglobeandmail

La Quinta Escuadrilla de aeronaves de la Armada celebra las 100.000 horas de vuelo

La Quinta Escuadrilla de la Flotilla de Aeronaves de la Armada, que opera los helicópteros SH-3D, ha celebrado hoy las 100.000 horas de vuelo mediante una ceremonia, que ha incluido un repaso histórico de las efemérides más destacadas de la Escuadrilla por parte de uno de sus antiguos pilotos, y un acto de homenaje a los compañeros caídos en acto de servicio.

La Quinta Escuadrilla fue creada en febrero de 1966 con objeto de hacer frente a la amenaza submarina. El primer helicóptero SH3D que salió de la cadena de montaje de la empresa Sikorsky Aircraft fue adquirido por la Armada española, siendo por tanto, "prototipo" de todos los que le siguieron y vuelan hoy en día por todo el mundo. Este helicóptero, denominado MORSA 501, llegó a la Base Naval de Rota el 29 de Junio de 1966, fue el primero de la serie en lucha antisubmarina, y aún está operativo en la Armada aunque actualmente realiza otras misiones.

Entre 1966 y 1981 la Quinta Escuadrilla incorporó 18 helicópteros. Tras perder ocho aeronaves en la mar, que han costado la vida a nueve marinos, actualmente vuelan once aparatos. Sus misiones en la actualidad ya no son las antisubmarinas, sino de alerta temprana por un lado, y helitransporte, que además de transporte táctico de tropas incluye transporte logístico y evacuación médica estabilizada. El SH-3D es el único helicóptero certificado en España para realizar operaciones de MEDEVAC (evacuación médica estabilizada).

armada

El Gobierno justifica la "necesaria" compra de dos helicópteros a EEUU

El Gobierno ha justificado la compra a la Armada estadounidense de dos helicópteros de segunda mano SH-60F, a mitad de su vida útil, por "la necesidad de mantener la capacidad de transporte de tropas" mientras dure la renovación del parque de helicópteros español.

Esta ha sido la respuesta del Gobierno a una pregunta parlamentaria del diputado de IU José Luis Centella, que inquirió al Ejecutivo sobre los motivos por los que Defensa va a recibir dos helicópteros ya usados para reemplazar a los SH3D

El Gobierno recuerda la necesidad de sustituir las unidades que se van a dar de baja y recuerda que tienen más de 40 años de antigüedad.

publico

Royal Canadian Air force chief stands by Sea Kings

The head of the Royal Canadian Air Force says he's confident the military's 50-year-old Sea King helicopters can stay in the air long enough for their troubled replacements to arrive.

leaderpost

Despedida del Portaaviones ‘Príncipe de Asturias’ tras 25 años de servicio

Su Alteza Real el Príncipe de Asturias, acompañado por el ministro de Defensa, el jefe del Estado Mayor de la Armada y otras autoridades militares ha presidido hoy en la base naval de Rota la ceremonia oficial de despedida del portaaviones ‘Príncipe de Asturias’, tras 25 años de servicio.
A su llegada, después de ser recibido por las autoridades, S.A.R. Don Felipe de Borbón asistió a una conferencia sobre la historia del portaaviones.
Desde el Puente de Mando, el Príncipe de Asturias ha presenciado una demostración aeronaval, en la que cuatro aviones ‘Harrier AV8’ pertenecientes a la 9ª Escuadrilla de la Flotilla de Aeronaves de la Armada realizaron una pasada sobre el buque, finalizando con la toma y despegue en cubierta.
La parada naval finalizó con un desfile aéreo compuesto de tres helicópteros ‘AB 212’ de la 3ª Escuadrilla, tres helicópteros ‘Seaking SH3D’ de la 5ª Escuadrilla, tres helicópteros ‘HUGES 500’ de la 6ª Escuadrilla y tres aviones ‘Harrier’.
Una vez finalizada la demostración aeronaval, Don Felipe cerró con su firma el Libro de Honor del buque.
Su Alteza Real desembarcó pilotando un helicóptero SH-60 de la 10ª Escuadrilla de Aeronaves, en la que ha sido la última operación de vuelo del portaaviones.
El portaaviones ‘Príncipe de Asturias’ continúa su periplo hasta Ferrol, donde concluirá su vida operativa.

armada

Royal Navy Sea King Mk7 Airborne Surveillance meets Type 45 for first time

TheSea King from 854 Naval Air Squadron worked with HMS Diamond while deployed in the Gulf.
They are two of the Royal Navy Fleet's most recognisable assets, but although Type 45 destroyers have been around for a good four years and the Baggers have been flying since the mid-80s in various forms, never the twain have met, until now.
mod.uk

Royal Navy without AEW&C capability from 2016 to 2020

The Royal Navy will lose its airborne early warning capability after the current fleet of Sea King Mk7 helicopters retires in 2016.

It will not have that ability until 2020 when radar-equipped Merlins take over.

learn more

Dinamarca retira helicópteros Sea King/ Danish Air Force says goodbye to the Sea King

El pasado 16 de junio de 2010 se produjo la retirada formal de los S-61 Sea King de la Fuerza Aérea Danesa. En servicio desde 1965 en el 722 Squadron, serán sustituídos por 14 AW101 Merlin, pedidos en 2001, en la misión de SAR.
De estos, cuatro Merlin fueron transferidos a la Royal Air Force en 2007, siendo sustituídos por ejemplares nuevos. La última unidad fue entregada el 20 de enero de 2010.
key.aero
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On June 16 the Royal Danish Air Force formally retired its last S-61 Sea King helicopters. In service since 1965, the S-61s of 722 Squadron are being replaced by the AW101 Merlin for the Search and Rescue role. The original batch of eight S-61s was delivered between May and October 1965.
An order for 14 AgustaWestland AW101 Mk 512 Merlins was placed in December 2001. From the 14 original deliveries, four SAR-configured and two Tactical Transport Helicopter versions were transferred to the UK Royal Air Force in mid-2007 and have subsequently been replaced with newer examples, the first of these being delivered on June 5, 2009, whilst the final example was handed-over on January 20.
key.aero