AirForces Monthly – May 2018

26 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

NEWS

// MAY 2018 #362

Special

he NH90 Tactical

Transport Helicopter

(TTH) fleet declared

Limited Operational

Capability (LOC) with the

Belgian Air Component on

February 6. The milestone

means the type can

support a non-Article 5

Crisis Response Operation

(CRO) with two helicopters

over a four-month period.

This involves working in

a permissive or uncertain

environment with possible

small arms fire and without

a spare helicopter in the

area of operations.

A pair of TTHs was loaded

into a Volga-Dnepr An-124

at Beauvechain air base

on February 5. Operated

by 18 ‘Ares’ Multirole

Helicopter (MRH) Squadron,

RN-06 and RN-07 will

participate in the United

Nations Multidimensional

Integrated Stabilization

Mission in Mali between

March 1 and June 30.

The Belgian Council

of Ministers approved

participation in MINUSMA

on November 23 last year

and the mission can be

prolonged by an additional

two months if required.

The decision to transfer

from Beauvechain to

Bamako in

southern Mali

by transport

aircraft was a

practical one.

Covering

the distance

of around

2,375nm would

have taken the

helicopters at

least 35 flying

hours with

the added

complications

of diplomatic

clearances,

flight safety

concerns,

refuelling stops

and possible maintenance

problems en route. For

long ferry flights such as

these, Belgium participates

in NATO’s Strategic

Airlift Interim Solution

(SALIS). The multinational

consortium charters six

An-124s to move outsize

or heavy cargo closer to

operational theatres across

the globe. The NH90 is too

large to be loaded into the

Belgian Air Component’s

C-130H, but will fit into

its A400M successor.

Only the main rotor blades,

one of the tail rotor blades

and some aerials had to

be removed to fit both

Caimans in Mali

A pair of Belgian Air Component NH90 TTHs have arrived in Africa for the first operational deployment of

the force’s Caiman helicopters, as Jos Schoofs reports.

would

the

helicopters

least

hours

the

complications

of

clearances,

flight

concerns,

refuelling

T