RAF to transport vital supplies
RAF helicopters will help transport health service staff and supplies across the country, the Defence Secretary says today.
Ben Wallace says helicopters are “ready to support our emergency services and local communities”. Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Wallace says: “Our world-class doctors and nurses are on the front line in the fight against this global pandemic and I want them to know that our Armed Forces have always got their backs.” It is understood the helicopters will be used to transport medical equipment and supplies, particularly to remote areas.
An RAF plane has already airlifted a critically-ill patient from Shetland to an intensive care bed in Aberdeen.
The Government is also considering sending in RAF planes to repatriate British nationals unable to return to the country. A Downing Street official said: “In the first instance we are trying to do this by commercial means.”
On Thursday evening, the sound of applause rang out from windows and doorsteps across the land as the nation paid tribute to our fantastic NHS.
Our world-class doctors and nurses are on the front line in the fight against this global pandemic and I want them to know that our Armed Forces have always got their backs.
In times like these, our military contributes unique skills not only in medical care, but also logistics, forward planning, command and control.
They are already working across government to plan for future weeks, so the NHS front line can be freed to treat the population today. Rest assured, come what may, they will stand by our nation.
With London bearing the brunt of coronavirus, medics and military have joined forces at the ExCeL Centre. Their efforts and ingenuity have seen the NHS Nightingale hospital – with capacity for 4,000 patients – rapidly take shape. It will be ready to receive its first patients this week.
But the Armed Forces are not just showing solidarity with the NHS in London. They are contributing their skills and capabilities to the Government’s efforts in every corner of the United Kingdom.
Military planners are supporting the preparations for further NHS hospitals elsewhere in the country and our logisticians are helping to distribute personal protective equipment to medical colleagues wherever needed.
We’re stepping up in Scotland, where the RAF’s A400M transport aircraft have been called into action to airlift a critically ill patient from Shetland to an intensive care bed in
Aberdeen. Puma helicopters have been forward-deployed to Kinloss barracks in Moray.
Together with the Chinook and Wildcat helicopters based at RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire, they are ready to support our emergency services and local communities across the north of England and throughout the highlands and islands of Scotland.
Further helicopter facilities will provide aviation “hubs” at RAF Benson, RAF Odiham and RNAS Yeovilton to respectively support the Midlands, the South and South West.
On the ground, military planners and logisticians are supporting colleagues across government in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. They are contributing to the planning of a truly national response.
This is truly unprecedented cross-government co-operation for these unparalleled times. While our Armed Forces continue their critical operations at home, they have also been working with the Foreign Office to repatriate British citizens from around the world – most recently hundreds stranded in Peru.
With misinformation and disinformation running rife, they have been supporting the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to swiftly bust the myths and provide a clearer picture of what is really going on.
Every day, I am impressed by the expertise and the determination of our forces to work through the night to deliver on their tasks. I am proud of each and every member of the Forces, as they maintain their defence tasks and also mobilise for coronavirus.
While our newly established Covid Support Force has now deployed more than 900 specialist personnel – with 20,000 more waiting in the wings – the bottom line is that the Armed Forces are well-prepared and rehearsed for such threats.
Coronavirus presents a clear and present danger to us all. Our NHS is on the front line of this fight, but it does not fight alone. We’re in this together and the Armed Forces stand ready to do whatever it takes to provide our inspiring colleagues in the NHS and across government with whatever support they need to defeat this deadly virus.