OTTAWA - Defence Minister Peter MacKay told the House of Commons today that eight specially modified CH-146 Griffon helicopters will be sent to Kandahar in the new year to fly escort for the new CH-47 Chinook transport choppers.
The move represents an about-face for the Defence Department, which had asked NATO allies to fill that role.
The air force has wanted to send Griffons overseas since the start of the mission in 2006, but Gen. Rick Hillier, the former chief of defence staff, said no.
A small number of Griffon light utility helicopters have been adapted to carry missiles, a machine-gun and advanced sensors.
Big transport helicopters, such as the Chinook, rarely operate in combat zones without attack helicopters to protect them against ground fire.
