The International Community's Betrayal of UNAMID

GroundedThe International Community’s Betrayal of UNAMIDA Joint NGO Report

7.19 Spain ......................................................................................................... 227.20 Turkey ....................................................................................................... 227.21 Ukraine ...................................................................................................... 237.22 United Kingdom ........................................................................................... 237.23 United States of America............................................................................... 238.0 Conclusions ..................................................................................................... 249.0 Appendix: NATO medium lift helicopter capabilities................................................ 2610.0 Appendix: Summary of Available Helicopters by Country ...................................... 28NATO Countries without Suitable, Available Helicopters ............................................ 282

Organizations endorsing this reportAegis TrustAmericans Against Darfur GenocideThe Arab Program for Human RightsActivists (APHRA)ARI MovementThe Cairo Institute for Human RightsStudiesThe Centre for Army Conversion andDisarmament StudiesCollectif Urgence DarfourDarfur Action Group of South CarolinaDarfur Australia NetworkDarfur CallDarfur Hilfe e.V.Darfur Relief and Documentation CentreDarfur UnionENOUGH ProjectEuropean Union of Jewish StudentsFEMNETGenocide AlertGenocide Intervention NetworkThe Human Rights Institute of SouthAfrica (HURISA)International Crisis GroupInternational Refugee Rights InitiativeItalians for DarfurJapanese for DarfurNAS InternationalOlympic Dream for DarfurPhysicians for Human RightsSan Francisco Bay Area Darfur CoalitionSave Darfur CoalitionSave Darfur CanadaSociety for Threatened PeoplesSudan Advocacy Action ForumSudan Organization Against Torture(SOAT)STAND CanadaTeam DarfurUnited Nations Association (UNA)Unitarian Universalist Service CommitteeWaging Peace3

ForewordA year ago today the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to deploy UNpeacekeepers to protect the people of Darfur. This vote, which came after agreement forthe deployment had been struck with the Sudanese government, raised hopes that afterfour years of killings the international community would finally live up to its responsibility toprotect millions of Darfur residents driven from their homes by conflict. After years ofpassing empty resolutions while watching as about 300,000 Darfuris died according to UNestimates, villages were destroyed, and women and girls were raped, it appeared that atlast the outside world was moving from rhetoric to action.Following the visit that we made to Darfur in 2007, the Elders highlighted our concerns overinsufficient international financial, logistical and material support for deploying the UNmission. Almost one year later, our fears have regrettably been borne out. Rather thanstraining every sinew to make this mission work, the world community has failed to delivereven the basic support that the UN mission (UNAMID) needs to succeed. Today, UNAMIDtroops go unpaid, they are short on rations, and some are reduced to having to wear blueplastic bags on their heads because they do not even have the standard UN blue helmet.As a result, the people of Darfur remain as exposed as ever.One of the key gaps in the forces’ capability is the lack of helicopters. While no panacea,helicopters are essential for UNAMID to be able to operate effectively and react quickly in aregion the size of France. The force is seeking a mere 18 transport helicopters, whichcompares to around 350 on mission in Iraq. But so far, no country has stepped forward toprovide a single helicopter.This report sets out for the first time which states have the necessary helicopters andestimates how many are available for deployment to Darfur. It identifies a number ofcountries -- including the Czech Republic, India, Italy, Romania, Spain and Ukraine -- thathave large numbers of helicopters that meet the required specifications and are not onmission or mission rotation elsewhere. Many of these helicopters are gathering dust inhangars or flying in air shows when they could be saving lives in Darfur.The provision of these helicopters and other essential equipment would put added pressureon rebel groups and particularly the Government of Sudan to cease their resistance to4

UNAMID deployment; no longer would they be able to claim that the delay in UNAMID’sdeployment was the fault of the international community.The UNAMID operation is just one key to the securing lasting peace in Darfur. In addition,there must be broad-based negotiations among the belligerents and civil society actors tonegotiate a ceasefire and then permanent peace. Further, the 2005 Comprehensive PeaceAgreement, which ended decades of civil war between North and South in Sudan, must befully implemented to provide the broader national context for democratic governance andequitable distribution of wealth through the country.The time for action is now; the time of excuses and explanations is long past. We call onthe leaders in the countries cited above and others to exercise the leadership and mobilizethe political will to immediately make helicopters and other equipment available to the UNmission to save lives in Darfur. Our common humanity demands nothing less.Archbishop Desmond TutuLakhdar BrahimiPresident Jimmy CarterGraca MachelMembers of The Elders5

Executive SummaryThe United Nations Security Council voted one year ago to deploy a joint U.N.-African Unionpeacekeeping force, known as UNAMID, to protect the people of Darfur. But the world hasfailed to deliver the basic support that the mission needs to succeed. One of the key gaps inthe force’s capability is its lack of helicopters. Without helicopters, the force’s ability torespond quickly to events and fulfil its mandate to protect civilians is severely compromised.The July 8, 2008 attack on a UNAMID convoy in north Darfur underscores the criticalimportance of helicopters to the mission. The orchestrated attack left seven peacekeepersdead and 19 wounded after nearly three hours of ambush by armed militias. Withouthelicopters, UNAMID was unable to mount a rescue or reinforcement operation for thebeleaguered convoy. The consequences were deadly.This report, compiled by an aviation expert and endorsed by 36 human rights groups andnon-governmental organisations around the world, sets out for the first time data on whichcountries have suitable helicopters and how many are available for deployment to Darfur.While acknowledging the difficult political and logistical challenges, the report identifiesspecific countries that have suitable helicopters, sets out how many of these are known tobe committed to other missions, how many are required for national use, and how many arebeing serviced at any one time. Using this data, the report analyzes which countries arebest placed to provide the requisite helicopters to UNAMID.Using conservative estimates, the report calculates that NATO alone could provide as manyas 104 suitable helicopters for the UNAMID force. Among NATO countries, those countriesbest placed to provide helicopters to UNAMID are the Czech Republic, Italy, Romania andSpain. In addition, Ukraine and India – both countries that traditionally contribute to U.N.peacekeeping missions - could together contribute 34 helicopters. Between them, these sixcountries could provide an estimated fleet of over 70 helicopters - four times the numberrequired by UNAMID. Countries with the ability to provide these helicopters must do soimmediately, and Security Council members – especially the five permanent members -must engage in concerted diplomacy to make sure this happens.The aircraft surveyed for this report have the U.N.’s stipulated range and lift requirements.While it is possible that some aircraft may need modifications to their subsystems in order6

to comply fully with the U.N. requirements for the Darfur theatre, these costs should be metby the countries themselves, by the U.N., or through bi-lateral support from capablenations.Helicopters are not a panacea for the UNAMID force. The force also needs other equipment,including transport trucks, aerial reconnaissance capabilities, additional engineers and amulti-role logistics unit. Critically, the force needs to streamline the movement of equipmentand materials from Port Sudan to Darfur; otherwise, even the contribution of equipment willdo little to help the people of Darfur.Of course, UNAMID is not the ultimate solution to the crisis in Darfur, a ceasefire and realpeace talks are essential in order to bring a sustainable end to the fighting. But UNAMID is akey building block in helping to stabilise the situation and move to a context where anauthentic peace process is viable. If UNAMID is allowed to fail, it will affect all of theinternational community’s efforts and set back any prospect of peace for many years tocome. Helicopters must be contributed now to make the force truly operational and to senda clear signal that the international community is committed to UNAMID and the people ofDarfur.7

Author BiographyThomas Withington is a defence analyst and writer based in France. He specialises inexamining military aviation and air power issues. He is an Associate Member of the RoyalAeronautical Society (RAeS), a member of the RAeS Air Power Working Group and aResearch Associate at the Centre for Defence Studies, King’s College, London. He hascompleted numerous research projects for a range of private and public sector clients oncontemporary and historic military aviation issues and is the author of four books.8

The U.N. expects helicopters performingCASEVAC/MEDEVAC to have the followingcapabilities:• 24/7 reaction time.• Alert-to-take-off time of 30minutes.• Lift capability for four stretchers.• Ability to fly in day/nightInstrument Flight Rules (IFR)conditions.• Minimum range of 550 km (300nm).• Ability to utilise FARP.• Minimum 40-m (131-ft) lengthwinch cable capable of extractingtwo persons.For aircraft performing RECCE missions,the U.N. stipulates that these helicoptersmust have:• 24/7 response time.• FLIR.• Daylight video camera andrecording equipment.• Searchlight with up to 30-millioncandela of power.• Public Address (PA) system.• Ability to forward-deployed for upto three days.• A trained surveillance crew.The U.N.’s specifications for aircraft toperform SAR are similar to thosestipulated for the CASEVAC/MEDEVACaircraft, however these aircraft must havethe following capabilities:• PA system• FLIR• Searchlight with up to 30-millioncandela of power.• ELT compatibility with anAutomatic Direction Finder.Despite the very real need for thesehelicopters and months of appeals forthem by U.N. Department of PeacekeepingOperations, so far none have beenprovided.This paper sets out some of the countriesthat have helicopters fittings the U.N.’sspecifications. It goes on to set out howmany of these are known to be onmission, how many are required fornational use and how many are beingupgraded. From this data it sets out whichcountries are best placed to provide therequisite helicopters to UNAMID.10

2.0 NATO and leading U.N. aircraftcontributing nations’ combined medium lifthelicopter strengthThere are many countries with availablecapacity at the right specification. Thisreport looks exclusively at the capacitiesof NATO countries and leading nationalcontributors of helicopters to support U.N.operations.On paper, the members of NATO and theleading U.N. aircraft contributorspotentially have over 3,700 helicopters 1which are publically reported to have atleast some of these specifications in termsof range and payload (see Appendix). It isalso reasonable to assume that theaircraft have some, if not all, of theequipment specifications stipulated abovesuch as FLIR, winches, machinegunmountings, searchlights, VHF/HF radios,EMT and PA systems.3.0 Existing NATO member states and leadingU.N. aircraft contributing nations’commitmentsHowever, not all of these 3,700 aircraftare available to support U.N.peacekeeping operations in Darfur.Several NATO members already haverotary wing aircraft committed to ongoingmilitary, peacekeeping and overseasobligations around the world. Forexample, France has helicopters deployedto support the EUFOR Chad/RCA(European Union Force Chad/CentralAfrican Republic) mission and aircraftsupporting NATO International SecurityAssistance Force (ISAF) operations inAfghanistan. Moreover, France also hasoverseas commitments in Djibouti, FrenchGuiana, French Polynesia, the French WestIndies and New Caledonia. 2This is also true of Germany, whichreportedly deploys helicopters in supportof the ISAF mission along with aircraftwhich are supporting the Kosovo Force(KFOR) in the Balkans province,helicopters based in Djibouti and aircraftwhich are supporting the UNIFIL UnitedNations operation in Lebanon. 3Greece has at least two helicoptersdeployed domestically to provide anairborne ‘flying doctor’ mobile surgery11

service for the Greek population. 4 Italyshares UNIFIL commitments withGermany and Greece 5 and has alsodeployed helicopters in support of ISAFalong with the Netherlands, which has asignificant helicopter deployment inAfghanistan 6 . Norway also sendshelicopters to support UNIFIL and ISAF 7along with Poland, which supports thelatter and also has aircraft deployed tosupport military operations in Iraq. 8 Spainsupports UNIFIL operations in Lebanonwith helicopters 9 as does Turkey 10 , whichhas a commitment to deploy helicopters tonorthern Cyprus.Like France, the United Kingdom deploysseveral of its helicopters to overseaslocations including the Falkland Islandsand Brunei and the country supportsmilitary and peacekeeping operations inIraq and Afghanistan 11 . Finally, the UnitedStates has a major commitment of severalhundred helicopters to Afghanistan andIraq. 12Several NATO members also supplyhelicopters to ongoing peacekeepingoperations in the former Yugoslavia.However, NATO does not publicallyrelease figures on the quantities andnational origin of the helicopters deployedto support these commitments. 13 Thesame is also true for the European Councilwhich has overarching responsibility forEuropean Union Force deployments toBosnia-Herzegovina, Chad/Central AfricanRepublic and the Democratic Republic ofCongo. 144.0 Technical issuesIn order to sustain a continual deploymentof helicopters abroad, countries arerequired to maintain a number ofhelicopters at home. For example,according to the UK’s Secretary of Statefor Defence Des Browne, there is a basic‘rule of thumb’ that requires threehelicopters to support a single helicopterin theatre. 15 Essentially, while onehelicopter is operating in theatre, anotherwill be undergoing preparations to replacethe aircraft which has been deployed. Thismay include installing special equipmentsuch as sand filters if the aircraft isoperating in a desert environment,ballistic armour if there is a danger ofsmall-arms fire being directed at theaircraft in the theatre of operations, orspecialist self-defence equipment todefend the aircraft against Surface-to-AirMissiles (SAMs).12

Meanwhile, a third aircraft may beundergoing Maintenance, Repair andOverhaul (MRO) at home following itsdeployment during which the helicoptermay have sustained damage or mayrequire complex servicing or replacementof essential systems such as the engines,power train, gearbox and rotor blades.Once these items are replaced or serviced,the aircraft will need to perform someflight testing to ensure that it is fullyairworthy and ready for deployment.Thus, in reality, to maintain a rollingthree-month deployment of fourhelicopters to an operational theatre, acountry would have to set aside twelvehelicopters to support this mission. It isalso important to note that MRO andequipment installation commitmentsincrease the more demanding theoperational theatre’s terrain and climate,and the more hostile the environment.The challenges that so-called ‘hot andhigh’ environments with high ambienttemperatures and rugged terrain pose tohelicopters are well-documented in thenews media. Moreover, helicopters arealso highly vulnerable to contaminationfrom sand particles, which can causeextensive damage to rotor blades andwhich make operations in desertenvironments hazardous.In addition to overseas commitments,armed forces will also retain a certainnumber of aircraft to support othercommitments such as domestic aircrewtraining; military exercises at home andabroad; and aircrews to maintain theirflying proficiency. Furthermore, an airforce or an army will most probably havea proportion of their fleet undergoing MROor upgrade programmes at any one time.Helicopters are ‘high maintenance’ assetswith significant numbers of moving partsand complex propulsion, avionics andweapons systems. A helicopter’s rotor,engine and transmission all experiencehigh stress levels, along with its airframewhich can be subjected to high levels ofvibration. Failures of any of these systemscan cause the catastrophic loss of theaircraft and there is a major safetyimperative to ensure that the aircraft is inan airworthy condition at all times. Thisrequires the aircraft to undergo regularinspection and maintenance cycles.According to one source it is reasonable tosay that at any one time, up to 30 percentof a nation’s helicopter fleet may beundergoing MRO or domestic training,proficiency and exercise commitments. 16These factors radically affect how manyspare helicopters a country may be able toprovide for a continual rolling deploymentabroad. However, when taking thesefactors into account, an examination of13

publically available information on currentNATO member and leading U.N. aircraftcontributing nations’ helicopter strengthsand commitments suggests that thesecountries have significant spare capacitywhich it could make available to supportU.N. missions.5.0 Availability of suitable aircraftAlthough the paper strength of NATOmembers and the leading U.N. aircraftcontributing countries in terms of mediumand heavy lift utility helicopters isimpressive, there are questions regardingthe suitability of these aircraft for socalled‘out-of-area’ operations in placessuch as Darfur.NATO’s helicopter fleets include legacyaircraft from the days of the Cold Warwhen the helicopter’s task would primarilybe to perform intra-theatre lift in CentralEurope to reinforce and resupply groundtroop formations in peacetime, or in theevent of a conflict with the Warsaw Pact. 17That said, Boeing’s CH-47 Chinook twinrotor helicopter has a particularly robustconstruction and has emerged as a toughworkhorse in the hot weather andmountainous terrain of Afghanistan. It hasa Maximum Take Off Weight (MTOW) of10,941-kg (22,798-lb) or around 33troops, with a range of up to 741 km (400nm). 18 However within the countriessurveyed, only Greece, Italy, theNetherlands, Spain, the United Kingdomand the U.S. possess these aircraft.Newer medium utility helicopter designssuch as the AgustaWestland AW-101 andthe Eurocopter NH-90 have similarlyimpressive weight, accommodation andrange capabilities but have only enteredservice in small numbers. In the case ofthe AW-101, Denmark, Portugal and theUK have around 48 of the troop-carryingTactical Transport Helicopter (TTH)version between them. Meanwhile, withinthe alliance, Germany, Italy, Norway arethe only countries which have so farreceived their NH-90s, with the Belgian AirComponent, Aviation Légère de l’Armée deTerre (French Army Light Aviation),Hellenic Army, Exército Português(Portuguese Army), Ejército de Tierra andEjército del Aire (Spanish Army andSpanish Air Force) expected to receivetheir machines over the next five years.The rest of NATO’s medium helicopterinventory is made up of Cold War-eradesigns such as the Eurocopter AS-14

332/532 Puma family of rotary aircraft(see Appendix). The situation is a littleimproved by the former Warsaw Pactmembers who have joined NATO such asBulgaria, Romania and Poland along withIndia, Pakistan and Ukraine. Thesecountries are equipped with a significantnumber of Mil Mi-8 and Mi-17 medium-liftaircraft, which are known for their robustconstruction. However some of theseaircraft may require the installation ofsubsystems such as FLIR or SAM selfdefencesbefore they would be adequatefor peacekeeping tasks.This is also the case for medium lifthelicopters operated by the WesternEuropean members of the NATO alliancewhich might lack the necessarysubsystems to support U.N. peacekeepingoperations. Not all of the aircraft ownedby the countries surveyed might be fittedwith the self-defence systems to allowthem to operate with adequate protectionin a region which could host a significantnumber of SAM threats. 19 Sudan is onesuch country with a high degree of SAMsystems, in particular highly-mobile9K32M Strela-2 (NATO reporting name‘SA-7 Grail’) MANPADS (Man Portable AirDefence Systems) which can be operatedby a single individual and which have thecapability to disable or destroy ahelicopter. 20To make matters more complex, severalNATO members are in the process ofhelicopter fleet renewal initiatives. 21 Asdiscussed above with the NH-90, manyNATO members are preparing to retiretheir older aircraft to replace them withnewer helicopters such as the NH-90 andAW-101. The result is that the designswhich are being replaced are towards theend of their active lives and are thereforemore maintenance-intensive to keepflying.At the same time, NATO members arefaced with an awkward situation by which,due to manufacturing delays on the NH-90, these aircraft are entering servicearound two years later than originallyplanned. The result is that there will befurther delays until the aircraft can becertified as fully operational and ready foractive service.This report has taken a survey of themedium lift machines now available to theNATO membership and the leading U.N.aircraft contributing nations, whichconform to the range and payloadrequirements stipulated by the U.N. Whilethe countries surveyed have thousand ofhelicopters in its combined fleet, only aproportion of these machines will adhereto the needs of the U.N. for the Darfurmission.15

6.0 Political issuesThe problem of securing helicopters forU.N. operations may not simply berestricted to availability; it may alsoconcern national political commitments.The deployment of helicopters to supportpeacekeeping operations can carry acertain degree of political baggage.Countries may be perceived as actors in aconflict no matter how even-handed andimpartial the deployment is intended tobe.Furthermore, the loss of an aircraft tohostile action during a peacekeepingdeployment, particularly if it results infatalities of troops and aircrew, couldcause domestic public support for themission to seriously decline. 22Demands for helicopters from the leadingcontributing nations and NATO membersto support peacekeeping missions will alsohave to compete with demands from otherquarters for rotary lift. Ongoing militaryoperations in Afghanistan have asignificant appetite for helicopters toassist combat in this mountainous countrywith its harsh climate. Helicopters are thepreferred means of mobility given thatthey are harder to attack than vehicleconvoys while also being able to travel athigh speeds and can operate without arunway. In November 2007, NATOSecretary General Jaap de Hoop Schefferasked alliance members to increase thenumber of helicopters based inAfghanistan. 237.0 Current helicopter availabilityestimations by NATO members and leadingU.N. aircraft contributing nationsBelgium, Canada, Estonia, Iceland andLuxembourg all lack suitable helicopterswhich have a basic conformity in terms ofpayload, range and accommodation withthe U.N. requirements stipulated above.Meanwhile, Norway, Germany and theUnited Kingdom do not appear to havesurplus aircraft which could be donated toa U.N. peacekeeping operation.However, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic,Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, India,Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands,Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania,Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey,16

Ukraine, and the U.S. have some surplusaircraft which could be made available.In order to produce estimations on thenumber of helicopters which a countrymight be able to deploy, it is important tocalculate the number of aircraft needed tosustain current operations, along with thenumber of aircraft required for domesticobligations such as training, crewproficiency, MRO rotations, and upgradeand retrofit programmes.7.1 BulgariaThe Bulgarian air force operates Mil Mi-17and Eurocopter AS-532AL aircraft, ofwhich it has 18 and eight airframesrespectively. 24 Bulgaria is not reported tohave any of these aircraft deployedabroad supporting overseas commitments.Given that up to 30 percent of the fleetmay be involved in domestic duties(training/proficiency/exercise, MRO;upgrade and retrofit) this could mean thatthe country has around 18 aircraftavailable to support internationalpeacekeeping efforts. Based on theguideline that three helicopters arerequired to maintain a single machine in arolling deployment to an operationaltheatre, the Bulgarian air force might beable to provide around six aircraft tosupport U.N. peacekeeping operation.7.2 Czech RepublicWith a fleet of around three Mil Mi-8s andup to 37 Mi-17I/Ish, the Vzdušné sílyArmády České republiky (Czech Air Force)has an impressive inventory of medium lifthelicopters. 25 With around 12 of thesemachines estimated to be involved innational commitments at any one time,the Czech government might be able tomake up to 28 aircraft available tosupport peacekeeping operations, whichcould allow for a rolling deployment of upto nine aircraft.However, the Czech government isthought to be under significant pressureto deploy any surplus helicopters toAfghanistan to support ISAF operations. InMay 2008, the U.S. government wasreported to be leading an initiative tofinance the upgrade of several of thecountry’s Mil-17s to outfit them withNATO-compatible equipment such asnight-vision and self-defence systems,identification friend-or-foe transpondersand secure radio communications. 26 TheU.N. might have to compete with NATO insecuring any Czech air force medium lifthelicopters to support the organisations’peacekeeping efforts.17

7.3 DenmarkThe Flyvevåbnet (Royal Danish Air Force)has a fleet of around eight AW-101aircraft which were delivered from 2007. 27These are advanced medium lifthelicopters which could be ideally suitedto assist U.N. missions. The country isestimated to maintain at least two ofthese aircraft for national commitmentswhich means that around six aircraft couldbe available to support U.N. operationstheoretically allowing for a rollingdeployment of two AW-101s.7.4 FranceFrance has one of Europe’s largestmedium lift helicopter fleets. The countryhas just over 200 SA-330Ba, AS-332C/L1,AS-532UL and SA-365N aircraft spreadacross the Armée de l'Air (French AirForce), the French Army and the Aviationnavale (Naval Aviation). 28 At the sametime, the country has a significantquantity of international commitments;with around three aircraft permanentlystationed in Chad to support the Frenchmilitary presence in that country, this is inaddition to the ten aircraft which aresupporting the EUFOR Chad/CAR missionand the approximately 10 helicoptersbased in Djibouti.The French government also deployshelicopters to French Guiana, FrenchPolynesia and the French West Indies, inaddition to around five machines whichare based in New Caledonia. 29 To maintainthe rolling deployment of these aircraft,the French armed forces are thought torequire a total of over 130 helicopters tosupport around 40 deployed aircraft. Inaddition, the country is estimated to havearound 60 aircraft permanently employedin support of national commitments. Theresult is that the government may nothave much spare capacity to deployadditional aircraft and may only be able tomuster about 10 additional machines toallow for a rolling deployment of aroundthree aircraft.7.5 GermanyLike France, Germany operates animpressive number of helicopters acrossits Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Heeresflieger(Army Aviation) operating around 86 AS-532U2, NH-90 and CH-53G aircraft. 30 It isimportant to note that of the 80 CH-53Gmachines that the country possesses, onlyaround 20 of them are considered fit fordeployments to support militaryoperations. The country has severalinternational commitments. In addition tothe estimated 30 machines Germany hasdeployed for national commitments, theGerman armed forces reportedly deployaround six helicopters to support ISAFoperations in Afghanistan 31 ; around 17 tosupport of KFOR commitments in Kosovo;plus three machines which are deployed to18

Djibouti and around four which supportthe UNIFIL mission in Lebanon. Thesecommitments effectively rule out anypossibility that Germany could deployadditional helicopters to support additionalU.N. operations. However, an upgradeprogramme for the 60 CH-53G aircraft notconsidered fit for purpose for overseasmissions could give some extra capacityto support the Darfur peacekeepingmission, although this could be timeconsuming and the German Ministry ofDefence might not have the availablefunding for such a project.7.6 GreeceGreece operates around 24 EurocopterAS-332C1 and Boeing CH-47Dhelicopters. 32 The country hasinternational commitment deployinghelicopters to support UNIFIL and fordomestic medical services. It is estimatedthat Greece may have up to three surplusmachines which could be deployed insupport of U.N. operations, which wouldallow for a single aircraft to bepermanently based on a rollingdeployment.7.7 HungaryLike Bulgaria, the Czech Republic andPoland, the Hungarian Air Force operatesaround 23 Mi-17 and Mi-8 aircraft. 33 Thecountry is not reported to have anyinternational commitments for itshelicopters and estimates predict thatHungary may have up to 16 surplusmachines which could be deployed insupport of U.N. operations. This couldpermit around five helicopters to bepermanently based in support of such anoperation on a rolling deployment.7.8 IndiaThe Bharatiya Vayu Sena (Indian AirForce) uses around 130 Mi-8 and Mi-17helicopters and is one of the largestoperators of these types in the world. 34However, the country deploys around 30of these aircraft in support of existing U.N.operations globally. 35 These deploymentsare estimated to require around 90supporting aircraft to maintain thecommitments. In addition, the Indian airforce is estimated to have around 40helicopters supporting domesticobligations. Theoretically, this could meanthat the country has up to 63 aircraftwhich might be available to support U.N.operations in Darfur. This could allow thecountry to provide around 20 machines toassist this operation.7.9 ItalyThe Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force)operates around 39 CH-47C aircraft. 36Italy maintains international commitmentsdeploying around six helicopters tosupport the UNIFIL and ISAF missions,although it is thought that these19

deployments do not always use the largeCH-47 aircraft. If this is indeed the case, itcould allow Rome to deploy up to 39aircraft in support of U.N. peacekeepingoperations, which would allow around 13aircraft to be based on a rollingdeployment.7.10 LatviaThe Latvijas Gaisa spēki (Latvian AirForce) has a small force of around four MilMi-8 aircraft. 37 At least one of thesemachines will be deployed at any one timesupporting domestic commitments andtherefore the country could probably onlyspare a single aircraft to support a rollinginternational helicopter deployment.7.11 LithuaniaLike Latvia, the Lithuanian air force has asmall fleet of Mi-8 aircraft, possiblynumbering around eight aircraft. 38 It isestimated that at least two of theseaircraft might be deployed supportingnational commitments at any one timewhich in turn might mean that up to sixhelicopters could be available to helpsupport international peacekeepingdeployments. This could permit a rollingdeployment of up to two aircraft. As withall of the Mil helicopters operatedthroughout NATO, there might be theneed to significantly upgrade thesehelicopters with new subsystems beforethey could be considered fit for U.N.operations.7.12 NetherlandsThe Netherlands operates a significantnumber of helicopters across theKoninklijke Luchtmacht (RoyalNetherlands Air Force) with a fleetcontaining around 28 CH-47D and AS-532U2 medium transport helicopters. 39The country also has significantinternational commitments deployingaround three CH-47s to support ISAFoperations in Afghanistan 40 . At any onetime, around eight aircraft will bedeployed to support nationalcommitments. This leaves a balance ofaround eleven helicopters which could beused to support a rolling deployment of upto four aircraft to support a U.N.peacekeeping operation.7.13 PakistanPakistan Army Aviation is a significantuser of Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters. 41 Theforce operates around 40 of these aircrafttypes. Of these helicopters, around six aredeployed to existing U.N. operations 42 ,with a further 11 aircraft estimated to beinvolved with domestic obligations.Potentially, this could mean that the armymight have around nine aircraft whichcould be made available to support theU.N. mission in Darfur, which could allow20

the country to maintain a rollingdeployment of around three airframes.7.14 PolandThe Polish armed forces have one of thebiggest Mi-8 and Mi-17 fleets in NATOwith over 50 aircraft spread across the airforce, army and navy. 43 The Polishgovernment has committed around eightof these aircraft to support ISAFoperations in Afghanistan which couldrequire around 24 helicopters to beearmarked to support this deployment. 44When national commitments are takeninto account, which probably absorbaround 15-20 aircraft, this could leaveapproximately 10 Mi-17s or Mi-8s tosupport international peacekeepingoperations. These 10 aircraft would allowthe Polish government to maintain arolling deployment of around threehelicopters.7.15 PortugalThe Portuguese are one of Europe’snewest AW-101 operators and around 12of the aircraft serve with the country’sForça Aérea Portuguesa (Portuguese AirForce). 45 The country is not reported to bedeploying any of these aircraft forinternational commitments, although it isestimated that around four of thehelicopters may be supporting nationalobligations at any one time. That wouldpotentially leave the air force free todeploy up to eight aircraft to support U.N.peacekeeping efforts, allowing for adeployment of between two to threehelicopters.7.16 RomaniaThe Forţele Aeriene Române (RomanianAir Force) operates a mix of Western andRussian-designed medium lift helicoptersin the form of Mi-8 and ICA-Brasov IAR-330L helicopters; the latter being a locallyproduced version of the Eurocopter SA-330 Puma. 46 A number of these aircraftare also operated by the Forţele NavaleRomâne (Romanian Navy) which gives thecountry a medium lift utility helicopterfleet of around 37 aircraft. Like Portugal, itis unknown whether the country deploysany of these aircraft in support ofinternational obligations, althoughdomestic commitments could require thecountry to use around eleven machines.This potentially would make around 26aircraft available to support U.N.peacekeeping operations, which couldtranslate into the country being able tomaintain a permanent deployment of upto nine aircraft.7.17 SlovakiaWith a helicopter fleet size similar to theirBaltic counterparts, the Vzdušné silyozbrojených síl Slovenskej republiky(Slovak Air Force) has a modest-sizedmedium lift helicopter fleet comprising21

around 15 Mi-8 and Mi-17 aircraft. 47Following the end of Slovakia’s 2007–2008 operational deployment of Mi-17helicopters in Kosovo (NATO KFOR), it nolonger has any helicopters deployed insupport of international operations. Thecountry is estimated to maintain up to fivemachines in support of domesticcommittments. The Slovakian air forcecould make around eleven machinesavailable to support U.N. operations,which would allow the country to performa rotating deployment of up to fouraircraft.7.18 SloveniaThe Slovenska vojska (Slovenian AirForce) maintains a small force of aroundfour AS-532AL aircraft. The country is notthought to have any of these aircraftdeployed on international operations, andis estimated to have at least onehelicopter supporting nationalcommitments. This could allow the airforce to provide up to three aircraft toreinforce U.N. operations, which wouldallow the country to maintain a rollingcommitment of one aircraft.7.19 SpainThe Spanish armed forces have acombined medium lift helicopter fleet ofjust over 50 aircraft spread across theEjército del Aire (Spanish Air Force) andthe Fuerzas Aeromóviles del Ejército deTierra (Spanish Army Airmobile Force). 48The country operates SA-300J/L, AS-332B/B1/UL, CH-47D and AS-532ULhelicopters and has at least two aircraftreportedly deployed with the U.N. insupport of the UNIFIL mission, requiringat least six helicopters to be available,plus a further two machines supportingISAF commitments requiring six aircraft tobe available. 49 In addition to this, thecountry is estimated to have around 14machines earmarked for nationalcommitments. This could mean thatMadrid has up to 18 aircraft to supportU.N. operations, which could allow thecountry to maintain a rolling commitmentof around six aircraft.7.20 TurkeyThe Turkish armed forces have one ofNATO’s largest helicopter fleets. Thecountry has around 120 medium liftaircraft spread across the Türk HavaKuvvetleri (Turkish Air Force) and TürkKara Kuvvetleri (Turkish Army). 50 Thecountry’s helicopter fleet includes AS-532UL and Sikorsky S-70A aircraft. Thecountry maintains internationaldeployments to the UNIFIL operation inLebanon, reportedly deploying aroundthree aircraft. 51 It also has domesticcommitments which may absorb around30 machines, plus deployments of aircraftto Northern Cyprus. In addition, theTurkish armed forces also deploy22

machines to support the ISAF mission inAfghanistan and a significant proportion ofaircraft are also being utilised for ongoingoffensive operations in Iraq. Because ofthese factors, it is estimated that theTurkish armed forces might be able tomake up to six machines available tosupport U.N. peacekeeping operations,which could allow for two aircraft to beutilised on a rolling deployment.7.21 UkraineBetween them, the Povitryani SylyUkrayiny (Ukrainian Air Force),Sukhoputni Viys’ka ZSU (Ukrainian Army)and the Viys’kovo-Mors’ki Syly Ukrayiny(Ukrainian Navy) operate around 116 MilMi-8 aircraft. 52 Of those aircraft, anestimated 35 helicopters are fulfillingdomestic commitments. In addition,Ukraine deploys around 13 aircraft toassist U.N. operations worldwide 53 , whichrequires an estimated supporting force ofaround forty aircraft. Therefore, Ukrainemay have up to 42 surplus aircraft whichcould support U.N. operations in Darfur.This could allow for a rolling deploymentof around 14 aircraft.7.22 United KingdomLike France, the UK has a particularlyheavy international commitment ofmedium lift helicopters. On paper, thestrength of the Royal Air Force fleet isplaced at around ninety aircraft whichincludes AW-101, Eurocopter Puma HC1and Boeing Chinook HC2 machines. 54However, many of these helicopters aredeployed to Afghanistan, Brunei, theFalkland Islands and Iraq which it isestimated requires around 80 aircraft tobe available. In addition, surplus aircraftmay be based at home for domesticcommitments. The UK medium lift fleet isparticularly taxed at present and there is arecognised need for extra helicopters tosupport operations in Afghanistan. 55Because of this demand, any sparecapacity will almost certainly go tosupport this existing UK commitment.7.23 United States of AmericaThe U.S. armed forces have NATO’s thebiggest medium lift helicopter fleet withover 2,100 Boeing CH-46E, CH-53D/E,Bell-Boeing CV-22, CH-47D and SikorskyUH-60A/L/M aircraft spread across the AirForce, Army and Marine Corps. 56 Thatsaid, the U.S. has by far the largestnumber of international commitments ofany of the Alliance members. Up to 1,170aircraft may be required to support thecontinued deployment in Iraq, with over200 machines supporting the deploymentto Afghanistan. Furthermore, the countryis estimated to have over 640 aircraftmaintaining crew proficiency, training,MRO and upgrade and retrofitrequirements. This could allow the countryto earmark just over 100 aircraft to23

support U.N. operations, which wouldenable around 30 aircraft with rollingdeployment.However, the Department of Defense hasalready warned that it might not have theaircraft capacity to assist U.N. operationsin Darfur. When asked about sparehelicopters, Defense Secretary RobertGates said that the current fleet wasalready “pretty pushed” in terms ofcommitments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Infact, the depth of these commitments issuch that the U.S. is applying pressure toother NATO members to supplyhelicopters to support operations inAfghanistan where the need for suchaircraft is particularly acute.8.0 ConclusionsBased on the analysis above, NATO andthe leading U.N. aircraft contributingnations might have circa 140 aircraftwhich could be available to the U.N. forrolling deployments to peacekeepingoperations.This figure does not take into account allof the medium lift helicopters which aresupporting NATO commitments in theformer Yugoslavia and also EuropeanForce obligations. NATO members mayalso have international commitments fortheir medium lift aircraft which have notbeen publically reported and for which thefigures are unknown. However, despitethese limitations, the relatively smallnumber of helicopters involved in thesemissions means they will not significantlyaffect the conclusions of this report.Based on the analysis above, thosecountries best placed to providehelicopters to UNAMID are:1. India2. Ukraine3. Czech Republic4. Italy5. Romania6. SpainBetween them, these countries would beable to provide an estimated helicopterfleet of seventy helicopters. That is fourtimes the number required by UNAMID.The aircraft surveyed for this report havethe U.N.’s stipulated range and liftrequirements; it is possible that some ofthem may need modifications to theirsubsystems in order to comply fully withthe U.N. requirements for the Darfur24

theatre. These costs – which can beconsiderable – could be met by thecountries themselves or by the U.N.The figures set out above are necessarilyestimates given the reluctance ofgovernments to publicly make such dataavailable.25

9.0 Appendix: NATO medium lift helicoptercapabilitiesHelicopter Range Payload Accommodation OperatorcountriesAgustaWestlandAW-1011,389 km (750nm)15,500-kg(34,171-lb)MTOWUp to 45personnelDenmark,Portugal,UnitedKingdomBoeing CH-46E 383 km (206nm)11,000-kg(24,250-lb)MTOWUp to 25personnelUnited StatesBoeing CH-47C/D741 km (400nm)22,280-kg(49,118-lb)Up to 33personnelGreece, Italy,Netherlands,Spain, UnitedKingdomEurocopter SA-330Ba/J/L572 km (308nm)7,400-kg(16,314-lb)MTOWUp to 20personnelFrance,Spain, UnitedKingdomEurocopter AS-332B1/L1/C/C1830 km (448nm)8,600-kg(18,959-lb)Up to 20personnelFrance,Greece,Spain, UnitedKingdomEurocopter AS-532AL/UL/U21,215 km (656nm)9000-kg(19841-lb)MTOWUp to 21personnelBulgaria,France,Germany,Netherlands,Slovenia,Spain,Turkey,UnitedKingdomEurocopter NH-901,203 km (649nm)23,370-kg(51,522-lb)MTOWUp to 20personnelGermanyICA-BrasovIAR-330L572 km (308nm)7,400-kg(16,314-lb)MTOWUp to 17personnelRomaniaMil Mi-17/1Sh 950 km (512nm)13,000-kg(28,660-lb)MTOWUp to 32personnelBulgaria,CzechRepublic,Hungary,Poland,Slovakia26

Helicopter Range Payload Accommodation OperatorcountriesMil Mi-8/P/S/T/R/L460 km (248nm)11,000 kg(24,250-lb)MTOWUp to 24personnelCzechRepublic,Hungary,Latvia,Lithuania,Poland,Romania,SlovakiaSikorsky CH-53D/G/E1,000 km (539nm)Up to 19,100kg (42,108-lb)MTOWUp to 37personnelGermany,U.S.Sikorsky UH-60/S-70592 km (319nm)Up to 11,113kg (24,499-lb)Up to 14personnelTurkey, U.S..Sources: Endres, G, Gething, M, Jane’s Aircraft Recognition Guide, Jane’s Information,Group, Coulsdon, 2002; Donald, D, The Pocket Guide to Military Aircraft, Bounty Books,London 2001; http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects27

10.0 Appendix: Summary of AvailableHelicopters by CountryCountryEstimated AvailableHelicoptersCategoryBulgaria 6 NATOCzech Republic 9 NATODenmark 2 NATOFrance 3 NATOGreece 1 NATOHungary 5 NATOItaly 13 NATOLatvia 1 NATOLithuania 2 NATONetherlands 4 NATOPoland 3 NATOPortugal 3 NATORomania 9 NATOSlovakia 4 NATOSlovenia 1 NATOSpain 6 NATOTurkey 2 NATOUSA 30 NATOIndia 20Traditional UNContributorPakistan 3Traditional UNContributorUkraine 14Traditional UNContributorNATO Countries without Suitable, Available HelicoptersBelgiumCanadaEstoniaIcelandLuxembourgNorwayGermanyUnited Kingdom28

Notes1 2008 Aviation Source Book, Aviation Week and Space Technology, McGraw Hill, 20082 France: Jane’s Sentinel Security Assessments, Jane’s Information Group, Coulsdon 20083 Germany: Jane’s Sentinel Security Assessments, Jane’s Information Group, Coulsdon 20084 Tsiliopoulous, ‘Military copter shortage affects Greek readiness’ @http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?idarticle=149255 Italy: Jane’s Sentinel Security Assessments, Jane’s Information Group, Coulsdon 20086 Netherlands: Jane’s Sentinel Security Assessments, Jane’s Information Group, Coulsdon20087 Annual Review of Global Peace Operations 2008, Centre on InternationalCooperation/Lynne Reiner, Boulder, 20088 Glowacki, B, ‘Poland to send upgraded Mi-17 transport helicopters to Afghanistan’, FlightInternational, 25 th March 20089 Spain: Jane’s Sentinel Security Assessments, Jane’s Information Group, Coulsdon 200810 Turkey: Jane’s Sentinel Security Assessments, Jane’s Information Group, Coulsdon 200811 United Kingdom: Jane’s Sentinel Security Assessments, Jane’s Information Group,Coulsdon 200812 The Military Balance 2008, International Institute of Strategic Studies, Routledge, London,200813 Conversation with senior NATO media liaison official, 25 th June 2008.29

14 Conversation with EU press representative, 26 th June 2008.15 Des Browne, Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence, Written Ministerial Statement,Hansard, 20 th May 2008.16 Conversation with senior NATO media liaison official17 Marcus, J, ‘Helicopter shortage in overseas mission’ @www.bbc.co.uk/news 11 th January200818 Donald, D, The Pocket Guide to Military Aircraft, Bounty Books, London 2001 and ‘CH-47E/F/MH-47E Chinook Heavy Lift Helicopter’ @http://www.airforcetechnology.com/projects/chinook/specs.html19 ‘Getting boots off the ground’, The Economist, 24 th January 200820 The Military Balance 200821 John, M, ‘Analysis – Helicopter crunch hobbles peace missions’, Reuters, 27 November200722 ibid23 ‘NATO About to Lease Troops Helis for Afghanistan?’, Defense Industry Daily, 8 thNovember 200724 2008 Aviation Source Book, Aviation Week and Space Technology, McGraw Hill, 200825 ibid26 Lok, JJ, ‘Mi-17 Upgrade Aims to Fill NATO Helo Gap’, Aviation Week and SpaceTechnology, 27 th May 200827 2008 Aviation Source Book28 ibid30

29 France: Jane’s Sentinel Security Assessments30 2008 Aviation Source Book31 Germany: Jane’s Sentinel Security Assessments32 2008 Aviation Source Book33 ibid34 ibid35 Annual Review of Global Peace Operations 200836 2008 Aviation Source Book37 ibid38 ibid39 ibid40 Netherlands: Jane’s Sentinel Security Assessments41 2008 Aviation Source Book42 Annual Review of Global Peace Operations 200843 2008 Aviation Source Book44 Glowacki, B, ‘Poland to send upgraded Mi-17 transport helicopters to Afghanistan’, FlightInternational, 25 th March 200845 2008 Aviation Source Book46 ibid31

47 ibid48 ibid49 Annual Review of Global Peace Operations 200850 2008 Aviation Source Book51 Turkey: Jane’s Sentinel Security Assessments and Annual Review of Global PeaceOperations 200852 2008 Aviation Source Book53 Annual Review of Global Peace Operations 200854 2008 Aviation Source Book55 Harrell, E, ‘Helicopter crisis hits battle with Taliban’, The Scotsman, 16 th June 200756 2008 Aviation Source Book32