Several helicopters, vessels for police, defence forces

Last Updated on Thursday, 18 January 2024, 18:27 by Denis Chabrol

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said government was talking with the United States (US)-headquartered aviation company, Bell, to buy four helicopters for the Guyana Police Force and Guyana Defence Force as part of moves to boost the country’s defence capacity.

“The army recapitalisation is a significant part of this budget too. There are significant expenditures here to expand the defensive capability of our army and to make sure that we can better police our Exclusive Economic Zone,” he told his weekly news conference that was held this week at the Office of the President. He said Guyana was exploring how best to use a Line of Credit with India for “some maritime assets to make sure that we better police our Exclusive Economic Zone.”

The GDF has already purchased a brand new custom built Offshore Patrol Vessel from the US company, Metal Shark.

Though he did not name the model of the four Bell choppers that would be purchased, he said they would be smaller than the Bell 412 Epi “which would assist not just the army but the police in training and also in policing.” He said the helicopters would be equipped with a range of technology including infrared.

The Vice President declined to provide details about government’s efforts to “better equip our security forces”.

He, however, said government has not decided whether it would replace the Bell 412 Epi that crashed in Guyana’s densely forested and mountainous interior nearer the border with Venezuela on December 6, 2023. The aircraft’s flight data recorder has been sent to the US National Transportation Safety Board as part of Guyana’s probe into the cause of the crash that claimed five lives.

Earlier this month President Irfaan Ali announced that there would be greater integration of the transportation assets of the GDF and the GPF. He said the police force would be having an aviation wing and the assigned chopper would be housed at a hangar that the GDF was building at Ogle.