Air force may buy four offshore rescue helicopters from US

The air force plans to buy four new S-70C-6 helicopters from the US within four years to strengthen its search-and-rescue capabilities, defense sources said yesterday.

The purchase will bring to eight the total of S-70C-6s in service. The air force obtained four of the helicopters in 1998.

The four new machines are to be used mainly for offshore rescue missions, reaching as far as China's coastal areas.

They are not to be part of the air force's rescue unit, the "Seagulls" squadron.

The helicopters will be assigned to a new special operations group that the air force is to activate in the future. It is not known what the new force will be called.

The force's missions will include rescuing combat pilots who get stranded in China after their planes are hit by enemy fire or their tasks are aborted.

It will be one of the air force's most ambitious projects as it has never tried anything of the sort.

The air force chose the S-70C-6 as the helicopter for the job mainly because of its night-vision and all-weather operation capabilities as well as its strong powerplant.

The new S-70C-6s are to be operated as real rescue helicopters unlike the old four, which must handle a variety of tasks such as serving as VIP carriers.

The older helicopters went into service in 1998, with two of them converted to VIP carriers.

The two converted S-70C-6s were used frequently by leaders of the then KMT government, which aroused strong criticism from the opposition parties.

The VIP carriers were equipped with luxury chairs and air-conditioning absent from the air force's main rescue helicopter, the S-70C-1. The equipment also included ashtrays that cost more than NT$10,000 each.

Most of the VIP equipment on board the two helicopters was removed due to a public backlash but could be quickly reinstalled.

As for the four new S-70C-6s, the air force wants them put to good use.

Chang Li-teh (張立德), a senior editor with Defense Technology Monthly magazine, said the S-70C-6s would be used for offshore engagement missions.

"If the air force wants to use the S-70C-6s to rescue combat pilots who lose their planes while bombing China's coastal provinces, it needs coordination from the army," Chang said.