Fewer than one in three of the Army's billion pound fleet of Apache attack helicopters is "fit for purpose" for front line operations.
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 perpetual defundnig and downsizing affecting the whole of Britain's armed forces.
"The vital work our troops are doing in Afghanistan is being undermined by this Government's inability to provide them with the equipment they need. The real problem was Labour's catastrophic £1.4 billion cut to the helicopter budget in 2004. Our troops are now paying the consequences for this decision."
[the next time someone points to Europe as a model for more socialistic government and how they still seem to be functioning, remind them of this little secret: they've 'spent' their ability to defend themselves to pay for their social programs. Only a hand full of European nations could put up more than a token resistance to a conventional invasion, and none can now project any real power to foreign shores to keep trouble off their own. That's why they harp so re: 'soft power' - it's the only kind they have left.]
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