An Cosantóir

defending our airspace | 11 Airspace our By Wesley Bourke Photographs by Armn Neville Coughlan The primary function of the Defence Forces is the defence of our land, sea, and airspace. Last year's visits of Queen Elizabeth II and President Barrack Obama highlighted the role of the Air Corps in providing the capability and assets to defend and secure our airspace. At the nucleus of the Air Corps' role in carrying out its responsibilities in this area is the Flight Training School (FTS) whose pilots fly the Pilatus PC-9M aircraft. T he PC-9M is a fast, modern, basicto-advanced turboprop fixed-wing trainer. It is fitted with a 'heads-up' display (HUD) and, when not in the training role, can be armed with .5" heavy machine-guns and folding-fin aerial rockets (FFARs). Since its entry into service with the Air Corps in 2005 the PC-9M has been used to train all Air Corps cadets to the level required for the presentation of military pilot's wings. Aside from basic-to-advanced cadet flying training, FTS carries out instructor training on the aircraft for instructors from the FTS and other flying units of the Air Corps. In recent years the Air Corps has focused on developing the operational roles of the PC-9M such as the provision of close air support (CAS) and the defensive counter-air (DCA) role. "The PC-9M as an armed airborne platform, working in conjunction with ground air defence units such as the Air Defence Regiment, can be used against other airborne assets," explained Chief Flight Instructor Capt David O'Riordan. "When a foreign dignitary visits, such as Queen Elizabeth in 2011, the air defence commander will draw up a security cordon around the dignitary, whether they are stationary or on the move. The inner cordon uses ground assets, such as the RBS 70, while the PC-9Ms provide an outer exclusion zone. The role of the PC-9M crews in such cases is to provide an air power platform for use as directed by the air defence commander, should the need arise." Last year during the queen's visit the pilots and technicians of the FTS main- tained continuous combat air patrolling during daylight hours to enforce the exclusion zone around the queen and her delegation as she stayed in Farmleigh House. As the delegation moved from location to location across the country, the ground and airborne defence cordon followed in order to maintain the exclusion zone. In general, the PC-9Ms maintained combat air patrol (CAP) positions approximately ten nautical miles away, except when the delegation was moving by air, at which time the PC-9Ms maintained racetrack CAPs within close visual range of the queen's helicopter. These rolling CAPs were used to enforce what is known as 'purple airspace' - airspace restricted only for use by the delegation. www.military.ie the defence forces magazine

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