***EMBARGOED UNTIL 00:01 TUESDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2013***
Royal Air Force Benson - Puma 2 ZJ954 & XW231, General Images taken on 4th October 2013 - SAC James Goff.
The RAF has begun training on the Puma Mk2 helicopter following a £260M upgrade programme.
Pictures released today show crews from 33 and 230 Squadrons carrying out training flights of the upgraded aircraft from their base at RAF Benson in Oxford.
The multi million pound upgrade means that the helicopters benefit from new engines which give them 35 per cent more power and improved fuel efficiency to allow them to fly faster and twice as far as the Puma Mk1. They also have state of the art digitized glass cockpits and upgraded LCD instruments.