Support will include a field hospital and C-130 Hercules critical care air support team.
The UK will send a field hospital and C130 Hercules critical care air support team and aircraft in the coming days to help provide vital emergency treatment to those critically injured by the catastrophic earthquake in Turkey.
This comes on top of key personnel arriving at the British Embassy in Ankara and an A400M RAF transport plane departing tonight carrying humanitarian aid, including thousands of thermal blankets to keep survivors warm in sub-zero temperatures.
“The field hospital, which will include an emergency department, 24/7 operating theatre, and accompanying clinical staff, will deploy to support the post-earthquake response in country. An eight-person specialist military team is already assisting with planning in Ankara, Turkey and tonight an RAF transport aircraft is due to depart RAF Brize Norton (Thurs) with humanitarian aid announced by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.”
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:
“The UK stands ready to assist our close allies and friends during this terrible time. We will keep options open for further assistance as requested.”
The Hercules C-130 will be used to move casualties within Turkey.
Development Minister Andrew Mitchell said:
“The UK has moved quickly to get vital emergency supplies to survivors of the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. We’re sending thousands of thermal blankets to Turkey to help those in the hardest-hit areas keep warm in the sub-zero temperatures. This is part of a wider package of UK support to the people of Turkey and Syria.”
Joint Force Headquarters commander Brigadier Dan Reeve said:
“Our thoughts are with the many victims of this catastrophic earthquake. Our team is trained, equipped and configured to assist our Embassy in Ankara in coordinating the UK’s offer of humanitarian support to Turkey’s disaster response operation.”
The Defence Secretary agreed to deploy the assets after the Ministry of Defence and his Turkish counterpart liaised over the last 24 hours.
Good thing we still have a C130 – which is about to get chopped……
Probably too late to save the very useful C130’s…..
Each time we use the C130 we see just how important it is and that is before we start looking at airframe numbers when they are withdrawn.
Agreed. The C130 Hercules and A400 Atlas are complementary rather than duplication. The UK has been the biggest buyer of the Hercules after the USA – 91 new build aircraft.
The official RAF website still awkwardly states: “A December 1993 MoD requirement identified the need for a Hercules replacement and although the European FLA [aka A400] was considered, the only substitute for a Hercules turned out to be a Hercules, in the shape of the more powerful Lockheed C-130J, a next-generation machine then under development and featuring the latest avionics systems.”
It’s ironic that whilst the UK has decided to dispense with the Hercules, the two biggest A400 customers – France and Germany – have in recent years been ordering C130’s!
It’s things like this which make me so proud to be British
Hi folks,
Once more this action by the magnificent UK military demonstrates to the lefty Wokes that military assets can be deployed for humanitarian aid, and not just for offensive action. The left would cut all the military so much, that we couldn’t offer any assistance, charity and private sector couldn’t carry out such deployments and would struggle miserably.
Cheers,
George
Yet more confusion over the C130j. You would think with the imminent withdrawal of the fleet, 4 have gone already. The RAF would play down the Hercules involvement.
I wonder how much aid Erdogan’s bbf Putin is giving Turkey.