Army Helicopters to be mothballed
New Apache attack helicopters bought by the British Army will have to be mothballed for up to four years because pilots cannot be trained in time to fly them. The National Audit Office (NAO) warns that the delay in the use of the aircraft worth £3 billion could lead to a "significant capability gap" for the Army because the missile system on its ageing Lynx helicopter fleet cannot be upgraded. The NAO criticised several aspects of the deal to buy the 67 Apache helicopters from Westland in 1995, including a decision to award the training contract to a separate company and a lack of vision about adapting the US helicopters to British standards.
The government awarded the training contract to ATIL, a company jointly owned by Westland and Apache's US manufacturer Boeing, after deeming Westland's sole offer too expensive. But ATIL has suffered a series of mishaps, including technical hitches with a flight training simulator that delayed its delivery by 17 months. Also, the duration of the training courses has been extended from 15 weeks to 26 weeks, partly because the helicopter is now more sophisticated than first envisaged and partly because the original programme failed to take into account that many more flying days are likely to be lost to poor weather in Britain.
Of the helicopters already delivered, 25 have been stored in hangars. Initial pilot training, originally scheduled for 2001, will not start until September 2003 because of the lack of a flight training simulator. The delivery of a fully equipped regiment of 16 of the helicopters is on track for February 2005, but another training programme for 144 pilots has been put back from April 2004 to February 2007.
The NAO says between 2002 and 2006 a "large number" of Apaches, possibly more than half, will have to be stored in hangars at a base in Shropshire at a cost of £6 million. The watchdog also says the first Apache crews will have no secure radio communications with British ground troops or other helicopters because of delays with the Army's Bowman radio system - but they will be able to speak to US forces.
