The 40-year-old British helicopter flying in Ukraine

A subject chopper donated to Ukraine by the UK authorities was utilized successful the Falklands struggle much than 40 years ago, the BBC has learned. Despite its age, the Ukrainian subject says the craft volition assistance successful the warfare against Russia.

Flying debased successful the skies implicit confederate Ukraine, the chopper swoops and turns, pursuing the contours of the ground. From the cockpit and unfastened broadside door, the unit scan the horizon, alert for imaginable threats.

We are connected committee 1 of 2 Sea King helicopters Britain has fixed Ukraine - the archetypal media to summation entree to the craft since they were delivered successful caller months. Inside, the temper is superior and purposeful, the menace of Russian missiles not acold away.

Despite this, the four-man unit is enjoying showing disconnected the caller helicopter. They archer america however important it is for them connected the battlefield, wherever it is utilized for rescuing casualties, moving troops, and carrying retired reconnaissance.

But wherefore is Britain giving Ukraine specified aged helicopters, immoderate of which person been flying for much than 4 decades?

The authorities successful Kyiv asked for modern combatant jets equipped with long-range missiles to assistance successful a much-anticipated caller violative against Russian forces. But the UK has not fixed immoderate of its Typhoon combatant jets to Ukraine - it does not person capable to spare, and it would instrumentality excessively agelong to bid Ukrainian pilots to usage them. There are besides broader fears that giving warplanes could escalate the conflict.

Instead, the UK chose to springiness them 2 helicopters that bash not transportation immoderate weapons oregon alert peculiarly fast, and which are nary longer utilized by the Royal Navy, which pensioned the Sea Kings disconnected respective years ago. One of them is truthful aged it adjacent saw work during the Falklands conflict, backmost successful 1982, wherever it played an historical role.

The reply to the prime of craft tin besides beryllium recovered partially present successful Ukraine. The unit are intelligibly passionate astir their caller helicopter. Co-pilot, Vasil, says the Sea King was conscionable what Ukraine's Navy needed - a practical, reliable craft that tin bash immoderate is asked of it.

"I similar this chopper due to the fact that it is incredibly bully for flying," Vasil says. "It's 1 of the champion for combat operations, whether transporting instrumentality oregon carrying retired hunt and rescue. It is casual to alert adjacent successful hard conditions."

The Sea Kings are being utilized to prime up casualties needing urgent aesculapian help, determination peculiar forces into position, and fetch and transportation equipment.

Vasil says 1 cardinal task is searching for downed pilots, which tin impact flying down force lines. "Pilots person to eject," helium says. "They request to beryllium rescued. For this, we person to scope territory which is perchance not nether Ukrainian control."

He besides emphasises that the Sea Kings are of a akin property to respective different helicopters utilized by Ukraine's equipped forces. As such, helium and different pilots are acquainted with craft of that vintage, making their grooming easier.

"It is spacious, it has bully load capableness and it is economical," Vasil adds.

Another reply to the question astir the aircraft's property tin beryllium found, perhaps, astatine a basal successful confederate England, wherever a 3rd Sea King, which volition beryllium delivered to Ukraine successful the coming weeks, is being prepared. We cannot accidental wherever the basal is for information reasons, but we spoke to 2 Ukrainian engineers who person been determination for 7 months, grooming to repair and support the helicopter.

One engineer, Ihor, tells maine that the Sea Kings are successful information mostly new, with precise small of the archetypal chopper remaining.

"They are old," helium says, "but they person gone done modernisation, and we request them precise much. I judge this is conscionable the commencement of our enactment together."

These Sea Kings person spent overmuch of their lives carrying retired hunt and rescue operations - for civilians arsenic good arsenic work unit - and person been acquainted sights implicit Britain's coasts. One of the 2 presently successful Ukraine was flown by Ralph Wickes-Sneyd successful the Falklands successful 1982 - helium commanded the squadron of which it was part. The retired naval aviator says the chopper played an historical role, flying done a tempest connected 14 June 1982 to instrumentality the commandant of British onshore forces - Gen Jeremy Moore - to Port Stanley truthful helium could judge the Argentine surrender. No different craft could alert owed to the atrocious weather, helium says.

"It was rather an absorbing operation," Mr Wickes-Sneyd explains. "The ceasefire hadn't been signed up to this stage, and truthful the craft was flying into Stanley competing not conscionable with the weather, but besides immoderate inactive alternatively unfriendly Argentines."

The aviator besides revealed that the Sea King that helium flew - the 1 present successful Ukraine - was besides flown successful the Falklands by Prince Andrew, past serving arsenic a young naval pilot.

"He would person flown the craft from clip to time," Mr Wickes-Sneyd says. "It was his archetypal tour. So helium did what everybody other did, which was sometimes beauteous mundane, sometimes rather exciting."

These Sea Kings whitethorn beryllium old, they whitethorn beryllium fewer successful number, and they whitethorn not beryllium the fixed helping craft Kyiv wants to assistance crook the subject balance. But the navy successful Ukraine says it is blessed to person them - and it wants more.

There are different Sea Kings successful retention successful the UK, and if the authorities decided to springiness them to Ukraine, the unit and engineers we spoke to said they would beryllium much than welcome.

Pilot Vasil says that getting clasp of a Sea King is similar replacing your aged car with a classical "foreign car".

"It is truthful practical. We would similar to person much helicopters similar these," helium says.

Back successful England, technologist Ihor concedes caller craft would possibly beryllium better, but adds: "It's amended than thing and it's lone the beginning."