Six S-61 Sea King naval helicopters, spare parts will be supplied, and Ukrainian crews will be trained. Earlier, at the end of 2023, the German Ministry of Defense announced the delivery of a multi-purpose light helicopter Bo 105-E4.
The S-61 Sea King is an American twin-engine amphibious helicopter capable of landing on water and taking off from the sea surface. It was developed by Sikorsky in the late 1950s for the US Navy to detect and combat Soviet submarines. A number of modifications were created, including anti-submarine, transport and search and rescue versions.
The German Bundesmarines were armed with British-built WS-61 Sea King Mk 41 helicopters with an extended fuselage. 23 such vehicles were delivered from 1973 to 1975. Most of them were modernized in 1986-1988, receiving an additional Ferranti Seaspray radar and the ability to carry four Sea Skua anti-ship missiles. The decision to replace the elderly “kings” with Airbus NH-90s was made in 2016, and they were removed from the Navy aviation after 2020.
What's wrong with them?
Firstly, as in the case of the UK, which supplied Ukraine with three WS-61 Sea King helicopters at the end of 2022, we are talking about decommissioned machines in storage. The cars are over 50 years old. German military expert Julian Röpke has already criticized this initiative.
He notes that the helicopters are in terrible (unsurprisingly) technical condition. And if 20 years ago they required 50 to 60 hours of maintenance for one hour of flight, now they require 120 hours. This figure may increase several times before being used in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In general, the contemporaries of the Mi-4 helicopter are quite archaic in design and are equipped with outdated sighting and navigation equipment.
What will happen next?
Most likely, like their British counterparts, amphibians will join the scanty naval aviation of the Ukrainian Navy. Helicopters will be able to fly sorties to protect the waters of Ukraine’s remaining main ports - Odessa and Nikolaev (although the appearance of Russian submarines within the range of helicopters is unlikely), supply the base on Zmein Island and perform other tasks, including search and rescue. But quite a significant amount of time may pass before the actual implementation of this scenario, because the helicopters first need to be brought to an acceptable flight condition, the crews and technical personnel must be trained, and introduced into the Navy.
What does this mean?
German officials have repeatedly stated that the country's ability to supply weapons to Ukraine has been practically exhausted, and the Bundeswehr does not have enough weapons.
In addition, Berlin once again demonstrated its desire to get rid of outdated weapons. The transfer of decommissioned helicopter equipment is unlikely to help the Ukrainian Armed Forces, although it allows the German leadership to “save face” through minimal losses for themselves.
In addition, many months, if not years, sometimes pass between official statements from Berlin and the physical delivery of equipment. Thus, deliveries of old Leopard 1 tanks, announced in the spring of 2023, are proceeding extremely slowly as the equipment is restored, and are far from completed.
We also note that NATO countries are very reluctant to supply Western-made aircraft to Ukraine. The country is receiving either Soviet-style helicopters or extremely outdated vehicles, which belong better in a museum than in the armed forces.
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