UN Faces Helicopter Shortage

On Nov. 27, Reuters reported that shortages of helicopters are hobbling U.N. missions all over the world. “A shortage of top-end machines needed for tropical conditions plus a reluctance of countries to bear the costs of deploying them,” the article noted, “are being exacerbated by a procurement logjam that means a major renewal of Western fleets is years off.” That procurement gap, Reuters stated, will likely not be closed for another two years, when a new generation of helicopters suitable for the hot and dusty conditions of a place like Darfur is made available.

Still, a lack of global helicopter capacity should not excuse U.N. member states — particularly those which have complained loudest about Darfur — from their duty. How and where countries decide to deploy the relatively few helicopters available is ultimately a matter of setting priorities. And as the editorial rightly protests, Darfur is still low on the totem pole.

The strategic importance of helicopters in Darfur can hardly be exaggerated. Darfur is a vast area, and its few roads are often subject to seasonal flooding. Helicopters are critical for transporting troops and equipment across an area the size of France.

Transportation is not the only purpose for which the helicopters will be used. The extent to which the Darfur mission will be able to protect civilians will depend on the availability of so-called force-multipliers. Assault helicopters can be decisive in deterring attacks on civilians, particularly when the attackers are using suped-up Toyotas and horses. It is widely acknowledged that a key turning point for U.N. peacekeeping in the Democratic Republic of Congo was the deployment of Indian air force attack helicopters, which were then used to target militias. Such “peace enforcement,” the euphemistic term for aggressively going after groups determined to spoil a peace, will be critical to the success of the Darfur mission.