After more than 50 years in service, the Royal Air Force retires its Puma HC2 helicopters used for troop transport missions, medical evacuations, and logistical support for humanitarian operations. While the model, adopted by the service in 1971, does not yet have a defined replacement due to various issues with the medium helicopter program, it is already conducting farewell flights over multiple locations in the United Kingdom in an event that will continue until tomorrow.
Briefly reviewing the details of this farewell, the Royal Air Force announced that a total of three Puma Mk. 2 helicopters have been deployed in a formation called “Warlock,” which will take off from Benson Air Base in Oxfordshire. In this regard, the helicopters are expected to fly over various military bases, including those in Odiham, Middle Wallop, Boscombe Down, Hereford, and Shawbury, among many others, before concluding their journey at the aforementioned Benson base.
Regarding the event, Puma Force Wing Commander Nick Monaghan stated: “It is quite a complex plan. A team member has been working on it for about two months. Working out the different ways in which we could achieve everything we wanted to and go through all of the sites that have got significance for the Puma, and that includes going across to Northern Ireland, where we served for more than 37 years. And now obviously refuels at various different points as well, but hopefully we’ve come up with a really good plan.”
It is also worth noting that similar flights are planned to take place in Cyprus, where Super Puma helicopters have been stationed until now. In this case, the Royal Air Force has already arranged for Jupiter helicopters to take their place, with a similar decision expected for the deployment in Brunei.
With this move, London aims to achieve budget savings of approximately £500 million over the next five years, freeing up significant funds to advance various modernization programs for the British Armed Forces that have been affected by successive budget cuts. The government also hopes to learn lessons from the conflicts in Ukraine. In line with this, the UK government has presented a new plan worth over £2.2 billion to strengthen the capabilities of the local defense industrial complex, a network currently considered “broken.”
Finally, returning to the issue of the UK’s troubled medium helicopter program, it is essential to remember that the British Ministry of Defence hopes to select the new design that will equip the country’s armed forces before the end of the year. This is a highly significant project, not only because it involves contracts worth over $1.2 billion, but also because it is intended to replace the Puma, Bell 212, and Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin II helicopters. As we reported in February, the only remaining candidate in the competition is Leonardo’s proposal, which is based on the company’s AW149 design; Airbus’ H145 and Lockheed Martin’s Black Hawk exited the competition months ago.
Images used for illustrative purposes.
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