B.D.F. Acquires 2 Military Helicopters

David Jones

As part of the B.D.F.’s 2016 schedule, plans are underway to establish air support for ongoing patrols near the Belize/Guatemala border.  On Monday, two UH-1H helicopters, commonly known as Hueys, are expected to arrive in the country.  The pair of military aircrafts will form a fleet of three, including another helicopter that has been obtained by government. According to Brigadier General David Jones, the objective of aerial and terrestrial operations along the border is precision and accuracy.

Brig. Gen. David Jones, Commander, B.D.F.

“You all are fully aware of the aircraft that landed in Belize, the Bell 407 helicopter that landed in August, the sixth of August or so, found in the area of Blue Creek and this aircraft was flown by our pilots from Blue Creek to the Williamson Hangar Complex.  This aircraft has been acquired by the Government of Belize and has now been handed over to the Belize Defense Force so it is now in our arsenal.  We have control over this helicopter now and we’ve been doing test runs on it and ensure it’s maintained.  We intend to use it for future operations.  Helicopter training will be a big thing for us this year because we expect to get in the other two UH1H helicopters, actually on Monday.  This coming Monday those two helicopters are expected to be in Belize.  We will finalize between two contractors we’re looking at now to decide which one of them will provide the training, the helicopter training for our pilots.  We already have the Bell, so this year, 2016, we expect to have three helicopters up and running.  So operations will be more decisive and more deliberate and even more successful with the coming in of and having three helicopters in the Belize Defense Force.”

Training for a crew of pilots will be provided in the weeks ahead.