Paris, 16 June 2010 – The European Security and Defence Assembly (ESDA) said on Wednesday it was in favour of improving cooperation in the field of military helicopters within the EU and NATO, as well as launching a European programme for heavy-lift transport helicopters necessary for force projection.

In a report presented on behalf of the Defence Committee, Mrs Claire CURTIS-THOMAS (United Kingdom, Socialist Group) recalled that “helicopters have become vital operational assets, very much in demand in theatres of operation such as Africa and Afghanistan”. She regretted that for the last 10 years there had been “major qualitative and quantitative shortfalls in this capability in Europe and that the European states are reluctant to pool their national helicopter capabilities for use in coalition operations”.

According to the report, the European Defence Agency (EDA) had counted 1 735 helicopters of 22 different types in the EU, while “only 6-7% of these are being deployed for external operations”. Furthermore, General Henri BENTEGEAT, former Chairman of the EU Military Committee, had stated at a conference on helicopters organised by the EDA that “70% of the European helicopter fleet was concentrated in a quarter of EU member states and that only 50% were actually available and operational”. That number includes “the helicopters needed for training and those undergoing repairs and maintenance”.

It is in the field of airlift that the helicopter issue is “the most problematic in Europe”, the report stresses. “Governments have endeavoured to respond as swiftly as possible to the requests from troops on operations by speeding up the procurement process and stepping up cooperation”, in particular as regards refitting aircraft such as the Mil Mi-17 and training European crews.

The Assembly in particular recommends trying to improve “the availability of transport helicopters for external operations” and reaching “agreement on the launch of a European heavy transport helicopter programme” and studying the possibility “of giving a transatlantic dimension to that programme”. The ESDA also recommends supporting European industrial capabilities in the area of military helicopters.