Germany donates six Sea King Mk41 helicopters to Ukraine

Germany will supply Ukraine with six multipurpose Sea King Mk41 helicopters of the Bundeswehr. This was announced by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius.

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Defense Minister Boris Pistorius explained at the virtual ministerial meeting on January 24 that Ukrainian pilots and technical personnel are already in Germany undergoing training on the Sea Kings. In addition, the German armed forces (Bundeswehr) are supplying Ukraine with spare parts for this type of helicopter. Deliveries will start to take place from the second quarter of 2024.

«The Sea King is a proven and robust helicopter that will help the Ukrainians in many areas: from reconnaissance over the Black Sea to transporting soldiers. It is the first German delivery of its kind. The fact that Putin continues to accept the endless suffering of the Ukrainians because of his war of aggression should not leave us frozen. Therefore, for me two conclusions in particular can be drawn: for the protection of the Ukrainian population and infrastructure, air defense remains the number one priority,» said Boris Pistorius.

Провів телефонну розмову з Федеральним канцлером Німеччини Олафом Шольцом.

Дякую за особисті зусилля у всесторонній довготривалій підтримці України з боку ФРН, збільшенні оборонної допомоги нашій державі на поточний рік до 8 млрд євро, а також нещодавнє рішення про передачу…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 24, 2024

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy publicly thanked the German decision to transfer the six helicopters to Ukraine, as well as for increasing the annual military aid sent by Berlin to 8 billion euros and mobilizing other EU partners to strengthen our country’s defense.

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Sea King Mk41

The workhorse of German naval aviation since the mid-1970s has been the Sea King Mk41. Its main role is in search and rescue (SAR) missions in German maritime areas. Sea Kings operate from the base at Nordholz near Cuxhaven, as well as on the North Sea islands of Borkum and Helgoland and off the Baltic coast at Warnemünde.

Starting in 2020, these helicopters are gradually being replaced by the NH90 NTH Sea Lion, both in their SAR and transport missions.

What could Ukraine use them for?

The German Sea King Mk41s are equipped with radar and infrared camera and can fly even in the worst weather conditions. With their robustness, load capacity and long range of more than 1,500 kilometers, these helicopters are perfect for SAR and cargo and personnel transport missions.

They also have self-defense capabilities and can be fitted with machine guns, so that Ukraine can use them to perform SAR combat and special forces insertion/extraction missions behind enemy lines.