UK Afghan helicopters 'not safe' 英国阿富汗战场直升机“不安

Helicopters to be sent to Afghanistan may not be able to take part in combat because they lack adequate protection, the Daily Telegraph has reported.

每日电讯报报道，派往阿富汗的直升机因为缺少足够的保护，可能不能投入到战斗之中。

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The helicopters are used primarily to move troops and kit

Pilots are angry that six Merlins - due to go to Helmand in December - do not have Kevlar armour², the paper says.

It quotes senior RAF sources who warn this could prevent the craft taking part in missions against the Taliban.

Defence chiefs say the Merlins are fitted with ballistic protection and are being modified for operational use.

Pilots told the paper they had called for the Merlin Mk3 helicopters, which will be used to move troops and kit（装备，工具箱） around Helmand, to be upgraded at a cost of around £100,000 each.

Transporting personnel and equipment by air reduces the risk of attack from improvised³（即席而作的，即兴的） explosive devices (IEDs), which prey⁴ on the need for coalition⁵ forces（联合部队） to use slow-moving convoys⁶（护送，护卫） of heavy vehicles to replenish⁷ units.

'Range of modifications⁸'

However, pilots have claimed their requests for the helicopter upgrades have been ignored and say they fear the lack of protection could risk lives.

"I don't want people to come back strapped⁹ into their seats with bullet holes in them," a Merlin fleet source told the Telegraph.

"We are going to send aircraft out to Afghanistan that are lacking in the required protection. It will be the same as driving a Snatch Land Rover along a road full of mines."

However, a Ministry¹⁰ of Defence (MoD) spokesman insisted that the helicopters would be ready for deployment¹¹ later this year.

"Our Merlin Mk3 helicopters have ballistic protection as standard, and are being fitted with a range of modifications to make them fit for operational use," he said.

"For reasons of operational security, we do not discuss specific defensive¹² capabilities¹³ of our aircraft. To do so would potentially offer enemy forces a tactical（战术上的） advantage.

"Nevertheless, we will continue to provide the greatest level of force protection for both crew and passengers while maintaining performance in Afghanistan's particularly arduous¹⁴（费力的，辛勤的） environment."

'Busting¹⁵ a gut¹⁶'

BBC diplomatic correspondent James Robbins said he understood the problem was not primarily a question of the cost, but instead that factories could not fit all the required protection in time.

The MoD considered it better to get extra helicopters to Afghanistan quickly and then allow commanders to decide on the balance of risk of how to use them, he added.

Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth said last week he was "busting a gut" to get more helicopters out to Afghanistan following suggestions by some military leaders and politicians that there were not enough out there to support British troops.

The chief of the defence staff, Sir Jock Stirrup, said deploying¹⁷ more of the craft would prevent casualties and Foreign Office minister Lord Malloch Brown said there "definitely" were not enough helicopters, before rowing back on his comments.