May 26, 2017

Seven of the Royal Navy’s iconic Sea King helicopters were officially handed over to Pakistan Navy during a May 24 ceremony attended by Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK H.E. Syed Ibne Abbas.

Mr Christopher Bob Richardson represented the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) in the formal handing over ceremony.

Pakistan and UK signed the contract for the purchase of seven helicopters last year while a separate, maintenance contract was signed with M/s Vector Aerospace.

The aircraft are expected to be shipped to Pakistan later this year.

The Sea Kings earned their Junglie nickname after flying in Borneo jungles in the 1960s. The helicopters were used to carry Royal Marines and their kit into battle and have seen action in Bosnia in the 1990s, Sierra Leone in 2000 and Afghanistan over much of the past decade.

The helicopters left Royal Navy service in 2016.