An Cosantóir

CASA aircraft 15 | array of high-tech sensors to assist them. Both of the Air Corps’ CASAs recently underwent a mid-life refit and were re-equipped with a state-of-the-art surveillance and sensor package - the Fully Integrated Tactical System (FITS). The radar plots the target and the forward-looking infra-red (FLIR) camera then locates the target using the vessel’s heat signature; switching to the spotter scope, which can zoom in sufficiently to read the registration number. The system also includes an automatic identification system, which picks up information transmitted by many vessels regarding their position, heading, speed, registration and other data, and displays it on a digital map. All the information gathered is recorded and sent back to the Fisheries Monitoring Centre in the Naval Base. Because of the workload, there are two radar operators. One operates the radar sensors, FLIR and cameras; the other helps with fisheries information, accessed on a PC on the aircraft, and looks after the tactical side of the mission, filling in the sighting forms and any vessel information that is required. ‘When you are on the sensors, you have to have your eyes constantly on the screens,’ said Armn Mooney. ‘You’re not only monitoring the vessels on the surface but you have to keep an eye out for other aircraft that may be in the vicinity at the same altitude as us. Approximately half way through a flight we switch around to give our eyes a break.’ The SAROs’ job is not just plotting and guiding the pilots onto each target. With the FLIR and cameras they can tell the pilots what to expect. ‘We can see the vessel clearly way before the pilots can,’ Cpl Keogh said. ‘We can give the pilots any additional information that can help them. For instance, fishing vessels can often have flocks of seagulls around them, which are potentially hazardous to the aircraft, and we can relay that type of information to the pilots.’ ‘The FITS system makes our patrol much more efficient,’ Cpl Keogh explained. ‘For example, if we have a Customs officer onboard he may be looking for a cargo vessel from South America. With FITS we can stand off 20kms away and tell the pilot that all the vessels in this sector are fishing boats and he can then decide to go straight to the next sector, whereas before we would have had to check every target individually.’ If any vessel monitored by a patrol is later arrested by the Naval Service or Customs for illegal activities, the court will ask for evidence to be produced stating the vessel’s position at a particular time and date. This is where the patrol’s photographer comes in. ‘We have to take pictures of each vessel in our patrol area,’ explained Armn Doyle, ‘recording the vessel’s name, registration, date, time and position and whether or not they have lines in the water or if there is any THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE suspicious activity on deck. We have a GPS cable attached to the camera, which stamps the photograph with the co-ordinates of the vessel, the time and date. On return from a patrol I have to burn the photograph in a stand-alone CD writer. This is to preserve the chain of evidence as I could, if required, be called upon to present the evidence in court.’ The patrol also has a signal operator onboard who is responsible for the HF radios and the TX ARQ, which is similar to a SMS messaging system. On a regular patrol, Armn Corcoran relays the aircraft’s position to the Communications Centre and the Mission Support Facility in Baldonnel. ‘The main reason for this is that our operational area is so vast and our missions so diverse that Baldonnel needs to know where we are at all times,’ Armn Corcoran told me. ‘This really comes into play when we get a SAR call. While the pilots are talking to the ship or the rescue services, I would be relaying our position back to Baldonnel; in turn they may have to pass on our status to Air Corps or DFHQ Operations.’ After we landed I reflected on our day. For the crew, this is their daily job but for me it had been a whole new adventure. Maritime patrol operations are certainly a unique and specialist job. As the crew went to their debrief, they were handed their mission for the next day; officials from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group needed to conduct a survey. The CASAs really are our eyes over the sea!

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