The Apache attack helicopter Photo: Heathcliff O'Malley Fewer Than One In Three Of Britain's Apache Attack Helicopters 'Fit For Purpose' -- The Telegraph
Fewer than one in three of the Army's billion pound fleet of Apache attack helicopters is "fit for purpose" for front line operations, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
Of the 67 now in service with the Army Air Corps, just 20 are available for combat in Afghanistan or for training pilots in the United Kingdom.
The helicopter, which has proven to be a battle-winning asset in Afghanistan, where it provides close combat support to British troops, has become another victim of the overstretch affecting the whole of Britain's armed forces.
The heat and dust of the Helmand desert and the constant use of the aircraft on combat operations has started to degrade the fighting capability of the entire fleet, according to defence sources.
The highly sophisticated aircraft requires many hours of servicing every month and the arduous conditions in southern Afghanistan, where temperatures in the summer can reach 45C, dramatically shortens the life of the engine and the Apache's rotor blades.
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My Comment: Another example of how underfunded and overstretched the British military is.