Belgium has decided to purchase heavy-lift transport helicopters to boost its Armed Forces.
The program foresees a budget approved by the Government of 1.3 billion euros.
Most plausible competitors
It is unknown how many and what types of helicopters will be purchased; currently, the market includes two models, both American, CH-47F Block II Chinook and CH-53K King Stallion.
The first one, produced by Boeing, is the favorite since it has been adopted in Europe among other countries by the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and most recently in large numbers (60 helicopters) by Germany.
The second, King Stallion, equipped by Sikorsky (Lockheed Martin) can currently only count on the orders from the USMC which has a requirement for two hundred CH-53Ks and the Israeli Air Force which has so far ordered twelve units to replace the older CH-53Ds in service for more than fifty years and has higher costs compared to the Chinook.
In Belgium, the new helicopters will replace the land version of the NH-90 (built by Airbus) that has had operability problems and out-of-control costs and has been the center of virulent controversies.
The Armed Forces of Brussels will employ the new helicopters for troop transport, special forces support, medical evacuation (MEDEVAC), and civil protection missions.
Interestingly, the only major European country that has not adopted heavy-lift transport helicopters (despite the more or less apparent requests from the military top brass in this regard…) remains France which, is and will be surrounded by countries equipped with helicopters of this kind.
Photo credit @Boeing
