An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 13 ties requires that its natural resources be used sustainably: fishing is very big business with huge profits on particular species, so poaching and unlicensed, illegal activities must be strongly discouraged. Over the last 22 years the Air Corps has built up a huge amount of experience and expertise in the highly specialised field of maritime surveillance, carrying out close to 5,000 missions. The aircraft have accumulated almost 20,000 flying hours (the high- est hours and greatest utilisation of the type in the world), dur- ing which over 250,000 sightings of surface activity have been logged. The Air Corps' pilots, sensor operators and engineers have accordingly built up considerable practical experience and deep knowledge of the aircraft and their systems. An excellent relationship is maintained with Airbus in Seville: the company seeks advice and comments on technical issues from the Air Corps and has commended its personnel on their high maintenance standards. For all the reliability and robust nature of the CASAs' airframes and engines, it is the mission equipment and skill of the opera- tors that provides the key to successful operations. It is a feature of maritime conferences that the Air Corps representatives' knowledge is widely recognised and their input greatly valued, and in light of this expertise it would seem to this author that a programme of short exchange postings with other operators would be a logical progression. 101 Squadron works very closely with a number of agencies includ- ing Customs and Revenue, the Coastguard and the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority. However, the principal relationship is with the Naval Service, which patrols the Irish EZ from its base at Haulbowline. Daily, in support of the NS the Air Corps' maritime patrol aircraft scans large sections of the EZ or homes in on areas of particular interest. In summer two patrols are undertaken daily and one aircraft is available round the clock. The EZ is divided into 10 sub-zones and the first duty of the day for the captain and co-pilot is to ascertain which of these zones has been selected. They then study the latest detailed report from the Met Service and plan what is possible over the course of a typical six-hour patrol taking into account wind strength and direction, visibility, cloud base and precipitation. On the day of my visit for an afternoon patrol (the 106th mari- time mission of the year) the NS had requested an inspection of an area to the south-west of Ireland. Stable and calm conditions were forecast on a perfect late summer's day. A summary of the UK's fishery protection patrols and the IAA's NOTAMs (Notice to Airmen) were available. Planning was carried out for diversionary airfields in Shannon, Kerry, Cork or Brest, should the need arise. Meanwhile, the radar SAROs downloaded the latest update of the Lirguard database, which gives details of over 5,000 European and Irish fishing vessels. For take-off and transit to the patrol area we were required to wear immersion suits and lifejackets. I also had the opportunity to have a close look at the cockpit avionics. The aircraft is equipped with conventional flight instrumen- tation, including regulation FMS, TCAS2 and EGPWS. It is also equipped with two Collins ANARC 210 VHF and UHF multi-band radios; a TX-ARQ and Collins 9000 HF voice and data transmis- sion system; and a Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) set, which allows for secure communications with NS vessels and military units. A large, central touch- screen in the cockpit mirrors the display of the left-hand FITS console. Clearer and larger than the originally specified screen, the repeater displays not only the main radar return but also the FLIR, video or spotter scope image, either full size or as a smaller window within the main display. Comdts Kenny Byrne and Will Cummins described the wide range of duties undertaken by the CASAs. A considerable number of air ambulance flights to England have been flown, as well as troop, cargo, evacuation and repatria- tion flights as far afield as Norway, Lebanon, Kosovo and Malta. Participation in army exercises and parachute training with the ARW are regular duties, as are multi-engine flying training and ministerial air transport cover. Examples of one-off missions included providing vital airborne command-and-control capability during the visits of President Obama and Queen Elizabeth II, and providing SAR top cover during the recent rescue of solo transatlantic rower, Stein Hoff. (The RAF sent an A400M Atlas, the crew of which requested that the CASA should remain in support as it had a much better surveillance fit.) On reaching the area of operations, I moved into the cabin to observe the work of the SAROs Flt Sgt Gerry Mooney, Cpl Jeff Healy, and photographer Cpl Colum Lawlor. The left-hand, multi- function console was the main sensor station, while the position to the right was used as the tactical display. The radar data obtained is affected by altitude and sea condi- tions, and while the system can detect surface targets out to 230 miles at 16,000ft, as we descended to the operational height of between 800ft and 1,000ft, it was switched to enhanced, small-target detection mode and about 50 radar returns (or targets) could be seen within a 100 square mile box. Most were transponding AIS returns (vessel type, call sign, speed, heading, destination, etc) but still needed to be visually identified and photographed if selected as 'targets of interest'. The crew of Charlie 253 at work. The crew of Charlie 253 with Guy Warner.

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