Three AW189 rescue helicopters put into rescue flying service

Three Italy-made super-medium-lift helicopters were commissioned into the Donghai No.1 Rescue Flying Service under the Ministry of Transport in Shanghai on Wednesday.

The three AW189 twin-engine helicopters were manufactured by the multinational company Leonardo from Italy. Their inclusion in the Chinese rescue service extends the maritime search radius in China's eastern sea waters from 110 nautical miles to 200 nautical miles, marking a significant improvement in the maritime rescue capacity in the area. The three helicopters, with a maximum takeoff weight of 8.6 tons, can carry 19 passengers plus two pilots. They are the first batch of AW189 helicopters put into China's rescue flying service.

They have proved their performance in a maritime search-and-rescue exercise put up off Shanghai on Wednesday.

In the drill, the newly commissioned AW189 and rescue vessels were dispatched by the Donghai Rescue Bureau to save three crew members of a chemical tanker carrying phenol, who fell into the water in an explosion.

The AW189 quickly spotted the three, and had them delivered from the water.

"Now (with the AW189), we can immediately take off to perform the rescue within a radius of 180 nautical miles, without having to wait for 7 hours. With this 7 hours, a lot of lives could be saved," said Wei Shuo, deputy director of the safety supervision and management office of the Donghai Rescue Bureau of the Ministry of Transport.

Three AW189 rescue helicopters put into rescue flying service

Three AW189 rescue helicopters put into rescue flying service

Three AW189 rescue helicopters put into rescue flying service

The U.S. Department of Defense plans to spend more than 10 billion dollars to purchase air defense and interceptor missiles, and several billion dollars more to purchase various other types of missiles, according to a Bloomberg report on Friday.

According to the report, documents drafted by the U.S. Department of Defense and submitted to the defense committees of both the Senate and the House of Representatives indicate that these funds will be used to procure 5.75 billion dollars’ worth of THAAD interceptor missiles and 5.57 billion dollars’ worth of Patriot missile segment enhancements. The procurement list also includes 1.9 billion dollars’ worth of Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) and 1.3 billion dollars' worth of Tomahawk cruise missiles, as well as 692 million dollars for the procurement of precision-strike missiles, which was used for the first time in the war with Iran.

The report said that as U.S. forces struck Iran and intercepted its drone and missile attacks against U.S. bases in the Middle East, concerns are rising about the weapons stockpiles. U.S. lawmakers, defense officials, and analysts have stated that the current US weapons stockpiles are at dangerously low levels.

CBS News, citing U.S. military and intelligence officials, reported earlier this month that the rapid depletion of U.S. air defense interceptors and precision-guided weapons during the U.S.-Iran conflict had raised concerns within the U.S. government.

Pentagon plans to spend over 10 bln dollars on missile purchase