Swedish Helicopter Wing to Outline Extended Afghan Mission

London (ots/PRNewswire) -

As Swedish Armed Forces prepare to redeploy again to Afghanistan
in April 2013, the commander of the Helicopter Wing is set to meet
with military peers at Defence IQ's International Military Helicopter
[http://bit.ly/TP9hpe ] event in January to discuss the acquisition
of UH-60M Black Hawks that has made the mission possible.

Following the delivery of 15 of the aircraft last year, Colonel
Magnus Westerlund praised the Black Hawk as being the best solution
for the job as his forces prepare to assist all allied troops with
tactical medevac. Listen to the interview here:
http://www.militaryhelicopterevent.com

"We needed a long term solution but we were extremely short of
time," Westerlund said ahead of his briefing at International
Military Helicopter [http://bit.ly/TP9hpe ], which will be taking
place in London. "It's not a normal way of buying helicopters. It's a
government-to-government solution... and at the same time, we have
had great support from Sikorsky who are using Saab as an under
contractor for the work."

Westerlund stressed that aside to his own address at International
Military Helicopter, he is eager to hear more from other nations as
to their own experiences working with civilian contractors.

This is set to be a hot topic on the International Military
Helicopter agenda, where senior military personnel from the UK, US,
Italy, Poland, Portugal, France and The Netherlands will recount
lessons from recent operations as well as planning concerns for
future engagements. They include:

- Major General Glenn Walters, Commander, 2nd Marine, Aircraft Wing, US
Marine Corps
- Brigadier General Reinhard Wolski, Chief, Army Aviation, German Army
- Brigadier General Krzysztof Mitrega, Commander, First Army Aviation Brigade,
Polish Army
- Brigadier General Gourlez de la Motte, Commander, French Army Aviation, French
Army
- Air Commodore William Westerbeek, Commander, Defence Helicopter Command, Royal
Netherlands Air Force

International Military Helicopter will feature a dedicated focus
day on Enhancing Night Operations with Rotary-Wing Assets, assessing
the latest tactics and techniques, along with the technical solutions
that can be implemented to improve the safety and success of night
operations with rotary-wing assets.

International Military Helicopter 2013 will be held between 29 -
31 January in London and is sponsored by NHIndustries, RUAG Aviation,
Elbit Systems EW & SIGINT - Elisra Ltd, FMV - Vidsel Test Range,
Saab, Heli-One, MD Helicopters, Thales, Honeywell and TenCate
Advanced Armour.

Notes to Editors:

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Contact Debbie Young , +44-(0)20-7368-9737, email
defence@iqpc.co.uk or visit: http://www.militaryhelicopterevent.com

ots Originaltext: Defence IQ
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