Lankan Ranger
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Israel to rebuild scrapped CH-53 Transport Helicopters
With no immediate substitute for the Israeli air force's Sikorsky CH-53 transport helicopters in the frame, the service has decided to rebuild one aircraft which was cannibalised for spare parts and dumped in a scrapyard several years ago.
The need to reactivate aircraft 985 is one outcome following an Israeli CH-53 Yasur crash in Romania in July 2010.
Six Israeli crew members and one Romanian observer were killed when the aircraft came down during a joint exercise.
According to a report in the Israeli air force magazine, the service's 22nd maintenance unit will perform the rebuild, which will fit the aircraft to its modernised 2025 standard.
The upgrade, already being carried out on all Israel's operational CH-53s, will see the installation of 20 new systems, including an advanced electronic warfare suite, and a satellite communications fit to expand the type's operational capability.
The project will also introduce an altitude hold-and-hovering stabilisation system and a laser obstacle ranging and display capability.
Israel plans to continue flying its current fleet until it can acquire Sikorsky's new-generation CH-53K, under development for the US Marine Corps.
Only the CH-53K is designed for the type of missions Israel's Yasur helicopters are required to perform, the air force says.
Fleet pressure prompts Israel to rebuild scrapped CH-53
With no immediate substitute for the Israeli air force's Sikorsky CH-53 transport helicopters in the frame, the service has decided to rebuild one aircraft which was cannibalised for spare parts and dumped in a scrapyard several years ago.
The need to reactivate aircraft 985 is one outcome following an Israeli CH-53 Yasur crash in Romania in July 2010.
Six Israeli crew members and one Romanian observer were killed when the aircraft came down during a joint exercise.
According to a report in the Israeli air force magazine, the service's 22nd maintenance unit will perform the rebuild, which will fit the aircraft to its modernised 2025 standard.
The upgrade, already being carried out on all Israel's operational CH-53s, will see the installation of 20 new systems, including an advanced electronic warfare suite, and a satellite communications fit to expand the type's operational capability.
The project will also introduce an altitude hold-and-hovering stabilisation system and a laser obstacle ranging and display capability.
Israel plans to continue flying its current fleet until it can acquire Sikorsky's new-generation CH-53K, under development for the US Marine Corps.
Only the CH-53K is designed for the type of missions Israel's Yasur helicopters are required to perform, the air force says.
Fleet pressure prompts Israel to rebuild scrapped CH-53
