WASHINGTON, 6 November 2003 — The Army National Guard helicopter that was shot down in Iraq by shoulder-fired missiles was equipped with a standard package of defensive systems, including a missile alert system and flares designed to decoy a missile, a US officer said yesterday.
Army Col. William Darley, spokesman for US forces in Iraq, said in an e-mail exchange from Baghdad that the CH-47D Chinook helicopter had the ALQ-156 defensive system, including a flare dispenser, that is standard equipment on all Chinooks — whether active duty or National Guard.
Pentagon officials had said Tuesday that they were looking into this after Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., complained that some National Guard helicopters in Iraq have been operating without the ALQ-156 system and questioned whether the Chinook shot down Sunday was properly protected.
The Chinook, deployed to Iraq from the Illinois National Guard, was carrying troops to Baghdad. Fifteen soldiers were killed. Darley said a second Chinook flying nearby also had the ALQ-156 system.
Durbin wrote a letter urging Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to investigate whether the helicopter had a fully operational system to divert missiles and asked him to ensure that all helicopters in Iraq have the equipment. Durbin said military sources told him that some crews had been flying without complete anti-missile systems for almost six months.
