John Newman
The Bunker Group
Sort of ironic that by the time Choules arrives in Sydney, the Sea Kings will be retired and the MRH-90's still under review!!I'd be a little suprised if the TAS door is large enough for Merlin, it always looked a little small, but there is loads of room inside and if it was purely a matter of storage there's room for at least 2 or 3 Lynx sized aircraft in there.
The flight deck was marked out with a single spot. I don't know what Australia's FLYCO doctrine is, but without FLYCO being fitted out (the compartment is there, but empty) the RFA Bays are restricted to a single spot.
If there was a need to deploy Choules, eg for a natural disaster, early in her time here, probably mean the Blackhawks will have to be used.