An Cosantóir

42 GASU – GARDA AIR SUPPORT UNIT By OC 304 Squadron The names of the pilots that carried out the missions detailed in this article are withheld for security reasons. 304 Policing and Security Squadron is a specialised sub- unit within No. 3 Operations Wing, the helicopter wing of the Irish Air Corps (IAC). This Squadron provides pilots for the Garda Air Support Unit more usually known as "GASU". This relationship between the DF and AGS is a unique one amongst police helicopter units worldwide, where the air- craft are owned by An Garda Síochána (AGS), but operated by IAC pilots in conjunction with Garda Crew. GASU air- craft are registered as military aircraft and operated from Casement Aerodrome using its military facilities, such as Crash Rescue Service and Air Traffic Control, in order to provide an air support capability 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. A response crew is made up of one IAC pilot and two Gar- da members. The pilots in the Sqn are drawn from No.3 Operations Wing and transition in to 304 Sqn, after having first amassed operational experience elsewhere. The service operates as a single-pilot concept, where the pilot is responsible for all flying procedures and for the safety of everyone on board, while the Garda crew members are also trained to aid the pilot in landing the aircraft in unpre- pared, confined landing areas when the need arises, day or night. The rear AGS crew operate as mission command- er during deployments, and the AGS crew also work in tandem during deployments, to operate on-board mission equipment and utilise tactical communications systems to coordinate with AGS ground units and the AGS control room in Harcourt Sq. in Dublin. The crew are on immediate notice to deploy and operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When a tasking arises, the crew will have the aircraft airborne within 2 minutes. Before 1997, AGS had no aviation assets to carry out ae- rial surveillance, high-speed vehicle pursuits, searches for missing persons or any of the other wide variety of tasks that are required of police aviation worldwide. After sever- al years of intensive research, the Irish government agreed to provide funding for the establishment of GASU, and in doing so, purchased a fixed-wing Britten-Norman 2T-4S 'Defender' (IAC serial no. 254), and a Eurocopter AS355N 'Squirrel', no. 255. The Squirrel would come to be replaced in 2006 by a more modern Eurocopter EC-135 serial num- ber 256, and a sister EC-135 272 was added in 2007. Night Vision Goggle (NVG) capability came in 2008, allowing full operational capacity in areas of near total darkness, and the ability to penetrate any area of the country under cover of darkness. More recently E272 underwent a complete mission equipment systems upgrade, with vast improvements to Pilots' view of the city at dusk E272 over Dublin Port GASU – GARDA AIR SUPPORT UNIT

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