Helicopters would cut Afghan toll, Ottawa told

[CHIMO]

KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN, and OTTAWA — Soldiers would be less likely to be killed or maimed by insurgents if helicopters were used to supply bases instead of increasingly dangerous convoys through hostile territory, a Canadian military spokesman said yesterday after a series of bloody attacks in Afghanistan.

"If we are going to be using vehicles on the ground to bring goods, to bring supplies to our forward operating bases, yes, it's problematic, because you're more exposed to IEDs as opposed to using a Chinook," Major Mario Couture said yesterday.

"No doubt, it would be a nice piece of equipment to have."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060622.wxafghan22/BNStory/Afghanistan/home


Helicopter contract would be Bell's biggest

MONTREAL - Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.'s Canadian unit expects to find out in the next two weeks whether it has won the largest contract in its 20-year history, part of a US$2-billion-plus deal to supply the U.S. military with 322 light utility helicopters.

Bell Helicopter, which would do about half the manufacturing of the choppers at its Mirabel, Que., plant and finish them in Texas, is one of four groups vying for the deal, expected to be valued at more than US$2-billion.

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=87fb4676-6663-47e0-b893-d53653d2a7d4&k=20054


U.S. troops transport supplies in southern Afghanistan in support of Operation Mountain Thrust.


http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/06/24/afghan.incidents/index.html

[daleo]

1. Helicopter crashes are a great way to lose a lot of troops all at once

So I question this whole idea.