Summaryedit

Licensingedit

	This file is licensed under the Open Government Licence v1.0.
	Attribution: Photo: SAC Andrew Seaward/MOD
	You are free to: copy, publish, distribute and transmit the Information; adapt the Information; exploit the Information commercially for example, by combining it with other Information, or by including it in your own product or application. You must, where you do any of the above: acknowledge the source of the Information by including any attribution statement specified by the Information Provider(s) and, where possible, provide a link to this licence; ensure that you do not use the Information in a way that suggests any official status or that the Information Provider endorses you or your use of the Information; ensure that you do not mislead others or misrepresent the Information or its source; ensure that your use of the Information does not breach the Data Protection Act 1998 or the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. You are NOT free to use: departmental or public sector organisation logos, crests and the Royal Arms except where they form an integral part of a document or dataset; military insignia; identity documents such as the British Passport. Consult this guide for full details. Note: Since 2010, almost all information owned by the UK Crown is offered for use and re-use under the Open Government Licence by authority of The Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office.info See also: Meta for information on usage on Wikimedia wikis.

Photo's description:

A MK 4 Chinook helicopter takes off from RAF Odiham during a testing exercise. The first upgraded Royal Air Force (RAF) Chinook Mk4 helicopters deployed to Afghanistan in late November, less than six months after their introduction to frontline squadrons. With an initial release to service granted in May 2012, RAF Chinooks crews were able to begin their operational work-up on the Mk 4 before declaring an initial operating capability in June 2012. This in turn allowed the first RAF crews to operate the Chinook Mk4 in support of UK security operations during the London Olympics from June to September 2012 prior to preparing for their deployment to Afghanistan. Under Project Julius, the entire RAF Chinook fleet of 46 aircraft is being upgraded with the Thales digital ‘glass’ cockpit procured through prime contractor Boeing, together with upgraded Honeywell T-55-714 engines. ‘Getting the first Chinook Mk4s into Afghanistan by December 2012 has been the result of a Herculean effort by everyone involved in the Julius programme,’ Group Captain Dom Toriati, RAF Chinook Force Commander and Station Commander RAF Odiham, told Shephard. ‘All the agencies involved in this programme have worked hard to help de-risk and produce a credible support and airworthiness solution which everyone could sign-up to and helped deliver the Chinook Mk4 into theatre.’ Royal Air Force Odiham is situated in North Hampshire, 46 Miles south west of London . The nearest large town is Basingstoke, 7 miles to the West. The working population of the Station is about 2,000, of which around 100 are civilians. Object Name: ODI-unclass-20130206-047-076 Organization: RAF Supplemental Categories: Equipment, Aircraft, Helicopters, Chinook Keywords: RAF, Odiham, Defence, Air Force, Royal Air Force, military, Chinook, Mk4, Equipment, Helicopter, HC4 Country: UK