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Helicopters for the BDF

By on April 28, 2016
Helicopters for the BDF

Helicopters for the BDF

Ladyville, BELIZE DISTRICT. Thursday, April 28, 2016. The Ministry of National Security has officially taken receipt of two brand UH-1H helicopters donated by the government of the Republic of China on Taiwan.

The handing over of the new aerial platforms was done on Wednesday morning during ceremonies at Price Barracks Ladyville.

Minister of National Security John Saldivar received the helicopters on behalf of the government of Belize, from the ambassador of Taiwan to Belize Benjamin Ho.

In his address, Minister Saldivar said that the handing over marked a signature moment, not only for the Belize Defence Force (BDF), but for the country on a whole.

John Saldivar (Minister of National Security)

He said that the helicopters will provide the country with 24-hour aerial mobility which it never had before without having to rely on others.

And with the hurricane season just over a month away, Minister Saldivar says the donated helicopters will give Belize crucial reconnaissance capabilities to monitor damage and flood prone areas of the country.

But perhaps the biggest use of the choppers will be to assist the BDF in monitoring illegal activities across the country and particularly along the Belize-Guatemala border.

That capability was not lost on the Commander of the BDF Brigadier General David Jones who said that the helicopters will contribute real time savings in terms of man hours.

helicopter_smBefore the advent of the choppers, it would take troops hours and even days to reach certain areas, but with the helicopters soldiers will not be inserted and extracted from even the most remote areas of the country in a much shorter time frame.

The helicopters are being piloted by soldiers of the BDF Air Wing who received their training in flying the air frames from the Jamaica Defence Force.

The choppers were assembled in Belize by a team of engineers, technicians and pilots from the Republic of China, Taiwan.

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