Norway in talks to buy British helicopters to combat Russian subs

3 comments

1. The Merlin helicopter is very good at what it does.

   The UK’s Merlin’s are ageing now and we need to think about replacement. I don’t think we would go too far wrong with new build Merlin’s with fresh avionics. The design has plenty of life left in it, but the current airframes are getting long in the tooth. Very capable, but now 25 years old.

   That way we can have a seamless transition, the supply and maintenance facilities are already up and running. We also have a lot of experience with the aircrews and engineers on the frontline.

   I hope the upcoming SDSR orders 50 of them for the Navy. We could reinvent the wheel with this, but with the armed forces needing to be bolstered we shouldn’t try to fix what ain’t broke.

   With the USA being ever more unreliable Europe should be using Merlin’s and NH90’s for ASW ops.

   We should work with Norway for this putative “Merlin MkV” so we both get more for our money.

2. Surely the Wildcat would be better, it’s an excellent helicopter.

3. I’m obviously missing something but Leonardo, who makes the helicopters, is an Italian company, not a British company. They’re manufactured in the UK, which is obviously good for industry. But this doesn’t seem like quite the win the telegraph wants it to be…

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