The Royal Danish Air Force has retired its S-61 U-276 Sea King helicopter from operational service this month, following 45 years of service.

The helicopter was primarily designed for search and rescue (SAR) operations and has been replaced by the EH101 Merlin aircraft.

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The Danish Defence Material Service has decided to halt use of all S-61s as they have only flown on maintenance check flights.

The S-61A helicopters are a variation of the US Navy variant SH-3A and have been used by the Air Force for SAR, transport of VIP and minor sling operations.

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