Germany will send six helicopters to Ukraine out of Germany's military inventory to be delivered from the second quarter of this year, its defence minister Boris Pistorius announced on Tuesday, the first delivery of its kind from Germany. The helicopters, called "Sea King" helicopters, should help Ukraine with everything from surveillance of the Black Sea to transporting soldiers, Pistorius said.
I wonder what they’ll use them for, in Germany we mostly look at them staying on the ground.
Maybe it’s something to distract the Russians. Downing one of these is great propaganda for Russia but probably not a massive loss for Ukraine except for the pilot. I can’t think of these being that useful for helping Ukraine to win the war but then again I’m a plumber so what do I know.
They are still capable SAR, surveillance, reconnaissance and personnel transport helicopters. The German ones are also equipped with anti-ship missiles and a matching radar system. When receiving three of these from the UK some time ago, Ukraine said they were needed and useful. Age alone is not a measure of usefulness. These are only slightly older than F-16, and nobody calls those old and outdated. Though not as glorious as fighters, they can still play an important role for rescuing or relocating personnel quickly.
I remember joking about how archaic the Sea Kings were when I was in university. I finished university 15 years ago.
Want to help Ukraine? Give them to Russia.