Canadian NATO Forces request more Helicopters

by John Astad | February 11, 2008 at 07:50 pm

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Canadian NATO forces in Afghanistan are lacking helicopter support in combat operations. The NATO International Security Force (ISAF), consists of over 43,000 troops from 43 different nations. Planning by the Canadian goverenment for utilizing six Griffon Helicopters in Afghanistan will assist in alleviating this deficiency.

The Canadian military is looking at sending as many as six Griffon helicopters to Afghanistan to provide additional firepower and surveillance for troops there.

Currently, to counter the present helicopter shortage, NATO is leasing Russsian made MI-8 helicopters.

As a result, NATO is starting to commercially lease Russian-made Mi-8 helicopters to handle in-theatre cargo moves across ISAF operations, although not troop movements, freeing up ISAF's military airlift and tactical helicopters to focus on combat missions. About 20 Mil helicopters will be leased, with some already operating in theatre, a NATO official told Jane's.

According to aviation industry experts this Russian helicopter is the worlds most produced design