Douglas Chapman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when a Wire Strike Protection system will be fitted to the Puma helicopter; and when (a) Initial Gate and (b) Final Gate approval was granted for that project.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Helicopter Safety Enhancements Programme has been coordinating provision of Wire Strike Protection Systems (WSPS) across the UK military helicopter fleet. Initial Gate approval was granted in August 2012 and Final Gate approval was granted in March 2013. The Puma Mk2 WSPS entered service in June 2015; fleet embodiment of WSPS continues and is expected to be complete by the second quarter of 2017.