After much delay, the first two CH-47Fs for the Defence Helicopter Command (DHC) have arrived in the Netherlands.
The new medium transport helicopters arrived by ship in the port of Antwerp on 24 August and were then transported by road to the Logistiek Centrum Woensdrecht (LCW - air logistics center).
They were handed over to the DHC soon after a series of modifications at Woensdrecht AB were completed. The CH-47Fs will be used by 298 Squadron at Gilze-Rijen AB, which already operates a fleet of 11 CH-47Ds. A third and final CH-47F is expected to be delivered in early 2013.
Concurrently, the Joint Netherlands Training Detachment (JNTD) at Fort Hood in the US also received their first two Foxtrot model Chinooks.
The JNTD already operates eight Dutch AH-64Ds and will get three CH-47Fs, the last of which is expected to arrive directly from Boeing in late September.
Meanwhile, DHC’s 860 Squadron at Naval Air Station De Kooy is eagerly awaiting its first Full Operational Capable (FOC) NH90 from NH Industries in late 2012.
The squadron is preparing for its first operational deployment with the NH90 NFH (NATO Frigate Helicopter) in January 2013 on board the Netherland Royal Navy frigate Hr Ms De Ruyter.
As part of the ongoing preparations, two hundred landings were performed on De Ruyter in mid-June to establish the ship helicopter operating limits (SHOLs). Aircrews from 860 Squadron also underwent two weeks of extensive flag officer sea training (FOST) in the UK in late June.
Two NH90s were deployed to RNAS Culdrose for this occasion, albeit still in their Meaningful Operational Capable (MOC) configuration. Once FOC NH90 deliveries commence, the current complement of seven MOC airframes will be returned to the factory at Vergiate in Italy to also be brought up to the latest standard.
A total of 20 NH90s are on order, eight of which will be delivered from 2013 onwards in their Tactical NFH or so-called descoped NFH configuration.
The last remaining Westland Lynx helicopters are now being withdrawn from service. During 36 years of operational service, the Lynx fleet amassed a total of 160,000 flying hours.
At the time of writing, the last flight was expected to be performed at NAS De Kooy on 11 September after a final operational deployment as part of the counter piracy operation Ocean Shield on board the frigate Hr.Ms. Evertsen ended in early August.
Netherlands Royal Navy Lynxes already relinquished their SAR duties on 1 July 2011. Until sufficient FOC NH90s become available, Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen (NHV), a Belgian helicopter charter company, has been contracted by the Dutch Ministry of Defence to provide interim night-time SAR coverage with a SA365N Dauphin II stationed at the Europort heliport near Rotterdam.
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