We also asked for comment on the state of the BDF Airwing fleet of aircraft. They are responsible for providing air support to their colleagues on the ground, so the press asked about the state of their equipment.
Here's the conversation with Lieutenant Colonel Burns on that topic:
Lieutenant Colonel Jermaine Burns - Acting BDF Chief Of Staff
"We are looking at trying to obtain new aircraft. You'd imagine that the aircraft that we have has all been nearing that point of where we need to write them off. The airwing started back in 1993 with 3 islanders and a Cessna that was donated by Mexico and 3 islanders from our British counterparts, one islander remains and it has about 5 years on it that remains, we're sourcing 2 engines for that and 2 propellers has recently been bought for that machine. When those engines have ran their time which is we calculate to be about 5 years, that aircraft will be decommission. We've decommissioned a number of other aircrafts over the years starting from around 2015. I was a commander then of the airwing and I remember decommissioning two. We have recently put in for the decommissioning of the piper and the helicopters we are test flying the last UH1H that we have and that is still good to go. It had a blade issue the other day, you'll see it flying pretty soon and within a week or so. But we are looking for new aircraft. We have a donation coming in next year from the Americans in the form of a Cessna 208 caravan and that is similar to the ones that the local airlines fly and that will be fitted with a particular radar that's going to assist us in tracking those illicit flights in the night-time."
Reporter
"Whats happening with the other helicopter? Has there been any move to try to replace it, the one that we lost in that major tragedy a few years ago."
Lieutenant Colonel Jermaine Burns - Acting BDF Chief Of Staff
"In respect to helicopters, we have been talking with our partners to try and get that level of support. You'd imagine something as simple as a vehicle, it takes a process and it takes a lot of negotiations - it takes time for partners to help us with these things and just like Minister Mahler alluded to you'd be hearing updates like its coming next week or so."
We also asked the Acting Chief of Staff about their quest to find a replacement for the military's helicopter, which crashed into the Western Lagoon near Gales Point Manatee in February 2020. That crash claimed the lives of 4 soldiers in the worst air accident Belize has ever seen. It also destroyed one of the BDF's two UH-1H helicopters, which the Taiwanese Government donated in 2016.
So, is the BDF working on a replacement? When we asked about that, the Acting Chief of Staff said that it's so easy because these aircraft cost millions of dollars:
Lieutenant Colonel Jermaine Burns - Acting BDF Chief Of Staff
"When it comes to aviation equipment, they're tremendous expensive and if it isn't a donation, we would have to look at a program that de-reserve a lot of tax payers dollars to try and purchase something like that and a one-off purchase of a really good helicopter if you're buying it out of the bell shop is looking at something the 12 million Belize dollars, the basic helicopter that the BDF would require and the initial purchasing is not the issue it is the maintenance. It would cost you 3 times that amount depending on what coverage you want to have over the country and so helicopter flying is pretty expensive, but when it comes to fix wing, it's a little more affordable for our community in the economic state that we're in and so that's the way we are trying to go. Some of our major concerns has to do with these illicit flights coming into our country and so that's where we want to bridge the gap with our capability and I am happy to say that the Americans are helping us with that next year. So, we have a team that is going out pretty soon to start training in the US on that platform before it comes into Belize."
