The image of the head of the Army having to fly in an American Black Hawk because there is no British helicopter available for him to visit the troops in Afghanistan has widened the political divide on the issue at Westminster.

In Helmand, however, the view is clear. There is no question that British helicopters are in short supply, whatever the Government may claim about numbers having increased by 60 per cent. The fact is that the total number of helicopters is probably fewer than 25: about ten Chinooks, five Sea Kings and eight Apache attack helicopters.

There are no Lynxes in Helmand because they cannot fly in the heat and thin atmosphere of the province. They are winter, not summer, helicopters. With 3,000 British troops now engaged in the biggest offensive against the Taleban since the campaign began in 2006, the brigade commander based in Lashkar Gah had no choice but to turn to the Americans to help out.

Availability of helicopters is also sometimes dictated by other weather conditions. A fierce dust storm can ground the whole fleet because visibility is reduced to zero.

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The limited number of British helicopters available to the force of 9,000 servicemen and women has been highlighted because of the influx of American Marines into Helmand, bringing with them about 120 helicopters.

Black Hawks are now seen everywhere — and notably carrying, during his short and last trip to Helmand before he retires, the British Army’s Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Richard Dannatt.

The perceived shortage of helicopters in Afghanistan is at the centre of a growing political row over the British campaign in Helmand province. First it was troop numbers, but helicopters have taken centre stage because of the increase in the number of casualties and the belief that if more supplies and troops could be ferried by air rather than by road convoy, the incidence of deaths and injuries could be reduced.

The deaths of eight soldiers in a 24-hour period between Thursday and Friday last week is not a relevant issue in the wider helicopter debate because they were on foot patrol in Sangin, a hazardous duty that every infantryman has to face to try to protect the local people from Taleban intimidation. The war against the Taleban cannot be fought from the air; the enemy has to be confronted on the ground.

All helicopter assets in Regional Command South, which covers the four provinces in southern Afghanistan, are pooled. Requests from individuals or units are prioritised and allocated according to the following criteria: the trip, the numbers, the location, the freight, the other flights required that day and availability.

As one military source said: “If you have 50 people and freight to move, you put them in a Chinook. If you have just a few soldiers to move and some freight you use Sea King. If it is just soldiers and no freight you use Black Hawk. This ensures the best usage of the assets. We in the coalition all routinely travel in each other’s helicopters, whether they are UK, US, Canadian or Australian.”

General Dannatt was given a Black Hawk. Bob Ainsworth, the Defence Secretary, who visited Helmand recently, apparently flew in Chinooks and Sea Kings, all British.

Chinooks are the most prized helicopters because of their size — you can pack more than 40 soldiers and freight into them — and their robustness. But of the ten RAF Chinooks, one or two will always be on standby to rescue casualties, a number will be undergoing maintenance and those available fly non-stop from one forward operating base to another, up and down Helmand. For the crews, it is a punishing schedule.

The Government has also claimed that the helicopters’ capability has increased by 84 per cent. By that, ministers mean that with a constant flow of spare parts and improved maintenance techniques, the Chinooks and other helicopters are able to fly more hours, thus making better use of the scarce assets.

With only ten Chinooks in Afghanistan — although with eight more due to be deployed there over the next 12 months — only a fourth of the Chinooks owned by the RAF are serving in Operation Herrick, codename for the campaign.

The rest are at RAF Odiham in Hampshire, used for training, on exercises, and 8,000 miles away in the Falkland Islands.

REQUESTS AND REBUFFS

— In April General Sir Richard Dannatt, requested an additional 2,000 troops for Afghanistan. The Government has sent 700. Troop levels have risen to 9,000, from 3,300 in 2006 when the Helmand mission began, but will recede to 8,300 after the Afghan election.

— Particular controversy surrounds Snatch Land Rovers, the lightly armoured patrol vehicles known to soldiers as “mobile coffins” because of their lack of protection against roadside bombs. Major Sebastian Morley, head of the reservist SAS, resigned over the issue last year.

— Viking armoured vehicles have had to have extra armour added underneath to defend against mines and bombs. They will be withdrawn from Afghanistan next year in favour of the Warthog.

— The Government has so far ordered 248 Mastiffs, an improved armoured vehicle. By contrast the US Army has received more than 3,000 MRAPs since it began to suffer major casualties from roadside bombs in Iraq.

— In the early part of the campaign, the Army requested more night-vision goggles and advanced light machineguns.

Source: Times database

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