Right, this is for nerds, so I guess few will read it, but here we go.
Why is DK, or rather the Danish navy buying Sea Hawk helicopters?
The reason is simple. The old and faithful and very dependable Sea Lynx helicopter used aboard ships are simply worn out after many years of good service.
Here is a Sea Lynx:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...18-Lynx-01.jpg
Beautiful, isn't it?
Very fast indeed and very dependable. But it isn't well suited for night operations and it's not the best suited for rescue operations on open sea either. And given it's limited size it can carry a stretcher but not much else.
And for operations against pirates, it can't carry more than at most four special forces soldiers to be deployed quickly to a ship.
And while it routinely carry a machine gun in the door, that's pretty much the only thing it can do. It's either a machine gun or special forces.
The Sea Lynx were designed to carry torpedoes but that's way too dangerous and hardly needed when controlling foreign trawlers around Greenland.
However, it's so fast, it can be on top of pirates before they can spit out the khat they are chewing!
So what's the alternative?
The EH101, used by the air-force (and army)?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._zj123_arp.jpg
Well, it's huge! Several meters longer than the Sea Hawk. And as such takes up way too much space on the inspection frigates operating in the North Atlantic, where every centimeter matters. Also, the EH101 require a good deal of maintenance. And that means fully supplied bases nearby, also a problem in the North Atlantic.
Then there is the Fennec used by the army.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ec_siku_07.JPG
Very fast, very reliable, but just like the Lynx too small.
So the choice fell on the Sea Hawk.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...e_approach.jpg
It has the right size, the right range and it works!
In contrast to the Lynx, the Sea Hawk is not as fast, but it can operate at night. It's very well suited to conduct rescue operations on open sea.
It can carry larger door mounted weapons while at the same time being able to deploy special forces.
It can carry several stretchers with room for a working doctor and relatives. And that means a lot when transporting a sick or injured person to hospital on the Faeroe Islands or from deep inside Greenlandic fjords.
It can also carry a considerable load, like a generator or whatever may be needed in a hamlet that has been isolated by ice or bad weather.
And last but by no means least: Since lots of Sea Hawks are operating all over the world, there is no shortage of spare parts or mechanics.
So the next time the DRF will visit Greenland and the Faeroe Islands we are more than likely to see them being flown around in a Sea Hawk.