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My take on Army helicopter cuts: Gazelle well past its “best before” date. Seems that Lynx AH-9A not a success. But fleet being consolidated around Wildcat and Apache. Army needs more Wildcats. But RAF also needs replacement for ageing Puma. Big question is who operates it?
— Nicholas Drummond
Defence industry consultant, commentator and writer
Thnx Sav! I trace Heli-Factory work for some time. They made a superb Gaz 'toy', very close to the original in terms of its shape. So far from the first Gazelle RC models
Yes they are the South African company and still have a large number of Gazelles stored at Stapleford Tawney. I saw them on my visit through a crack in a locked hangar door. All covered in plastic sheeting.
SA341B ZA766 (WA1808) from 665 Sqn, JHFS Aldergrove, (on the MoD's 'chopping list') starts and departs from Manchester Barton on 11th October 2017 (Video: Kevin Donegan)
Montenegrin Gazelles as seen in Podgorica recently (Photo: Sikimić Velemir)
SA341F (1466) as seen at Morlaix Ploujean Airport on 23rd September 2017 (Photo: Guillaume Verguet)
SA342L RA-0682G as seen near St. Petersburg recently
Some questions:
1. Do L'Armée de terre still have serving 341F's, or is the bird above now in civilian hands?
2. I have RA-0682G (above) as cn. 123, an SA342 ex RA-0608G and ex YU-HFD.
If anyone could shed some light on this, I would be most grateful.
XW849 isn't airworthy. The only airworthy Gazelle Sqn Gazelles are G-CBSK/ZB627, G-ZZEL and G-ZZLE/XX436 although that's privately owned along with G-CBSI/XZ934. All the others on the Sqn website are not flyers.
The Togolese Republic in West Africa may receive five ex-French Army Gazelle helicopters through a procurement process currently being reviewed by the French government.
An industry source told Jane's Defence Weekly that the sale is being reconsidered by the new French government led by President Emmanuel Macron, and that there are now strong prospects that it would be approved shortly.
French magazine Jeune Afrique reported in May that the 20 million euro deal had been approved by France’s Inter-Ministerial Commission on Arms Exports, but was being blocked by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs due to concerns that the helicopters could be used against political opponents or civilian demonstrators.
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