Helicopter shortage hurts UK in Afghanistan - MPs

By Luke Baker

LONDON (Reuters) - A shortage of helicopters is hurting British operations in Afghanistan, a report by a parliamentary committee said Thursday, adding to pressure on the government to increase resources in the war zone.

In a report whose publication was timed to coincide with a debate about the quality of British frontline troops' equipment, the Defence Committee said there were concerns about the number of helicopters and the defence ministry's program for procuring new ones.

"We believe that the size of the fleet is an issue, and are convinced that the lack of helicopters is having adverse consequences for operations today," the report said.

"Helicopters provide many vital capabilities to the modern armed forces, from the movement of troops and equipment around the battlefield to the detection and confrontation of submarines at sea. We were concerned both by the proposed reduction in the size of the fleet, and by the emergence of a 'capability deficit' ahead of the introduction of newer helicopters."

The report will fuel calls by opposition parties for Prime Minister Gordon Brown to send more helicopters and armoured vehicles to Afghanistan, where 15 British troops have been killed this month, most of them by roadside bombs planted by Taliban insurgents.

There are less than a dozen heavy lift helicopters for the 9,000 British troops in Afghanistan, limiting the ability to fly people and equipment rapidly round the battlefield. As a result, more have to move by road, exposing them to roadside bombs.

'CHOPPER WARS

Brown came under fire in parliament Wednesday, when Conservative leader David Cameron suggested that soldiers' lives were being put at risk because of a lack of aircraft -- a charge Brown brusquely rejected.