@NewsInLibyaNews in Libya
No decision on #Libya helicopter deployment: The Government has insisted that no decision has yet been taken on... http://dlvr.it/SryLY
Brits Deploying Apache Choppers Off LibyaSo the Brits may have lost their ability to launch fighters from ships with the retirement of the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal but that hasn’t stopped the Royal Navy from finding a stopgap power projection system until the Queen Elizabeth class supercarriers are commissioned. Apparently, the Royal Navy and British Army have re-qualified the AH-64 Apache (known as the AH1 in the U.K.) to operate from ships. Three Apaches were originally embarked on Ocean as part of an exercise aimed at giving the fleet some ability to project carrier-launched air power since the Ark Royal’s Harrier jump jets were retired along with the ship. Now, the Ocean is sailing off the coast of Libya with the attack helicopters on-board (pictured above). These birds are part of the Anglo-French force of attack helos that are may-or-may not be set to strike targets belonging to Moammar Gadhafi’s government in Libya. If the Apaches join the fray, this will mark a new phase of the Libyan conflict, coming on the heels of some of the heaviest NATO air strikes yet against Gadhafi. From Aviation Week’s Ares blog: What started out as an exercise is now turning into something more. The British government has apparently decided to deploy the rotorcraft to Libya, to help rebels in the area of Misurata in their fight against Libyan government forces. The move is a big escalation for the British after weeks in which sustained attacks on Libyan government positions and Col. Gadddafi’s leadership compounds failed to generate any major breakthrough. Only three Apaches are deployed on HMS Ocean, but the government has apparently authorized at least one more to be dispatched there with two more on standby, reports the Daily Telegraph. If deployed, the choppers would perform a similar role as the handful of U.S. drones that have been striking Gadhafi’s troops for just over a month now; loitering close to the ground in urban areas where they can easily identify and kill enemy soldiers who are deliberately hiding among civilians.
Read more: http://defensetech.org/2011/05/24/brits-deploying-apache-choppers-on-carriers-off-libya/#ixzz1NIMxDs1O Defense.org
Britain will send helicopters to Libya
Tripoli, Libya - It's announced by Alain Juppè and Gerard Longuet
(WAPA) - The French foreign minister, Alain Juppè, and his colleague of Defense, Gerard Longuet, announced that France and Britain have decided to use attack helicopters in military operations in Libya (seeAVIONEWS).
Juppè - in Brussels for the EU ministerial meeting- stressed that the use of helicopters is within "Exactly in the framework of Resolution 1973" of the UN Security Council.
Juppè - in Brussels for the EU ministerial meeting- stressed that the use of helicopters is within "Exactly in the framework of Resolution 1973" of the UN Security Council.
Source http://www.avionews.com/index.php?corpo=see_news_home.php&news_id=1129984&pagina_chiamante=index.php
Longuet on his part has also indicated that Britain will send the Royal Navy's HMS Ocean, assault helicopter carrier, from which will depart Apache attack helicopters, conceived as a twin-engine two-seater in tandem, for use in attack missions against tank, assault, escort and anti-helicopter fighter, to perform in all weather conditions or light, whose main armament consists of an automatic cannon M230 Chain Gun caliber 30 mm and can be equipped with a combination of anti-tank missiles, rockets and air-air missiles attached to the side flaps, to participate in operations in Libya and to conduct ground attacks "More precise" in the operations of the international coalition.
