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House 235 vibrates as the pilots rev up their powerful twin engines as it prepares to take off from Baldonnel military airbase for another mission.
The maritime surveillance aircraft, one of two that make up Air Corps 101 Squadron, is about to begin a defense and security patrol in support of the Naval Service.
The two branches of the Defense Forces have responsibility for policing the vast 132,000 square nautical miles of the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
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Pilots aboard a 101 Squadron Atlantic patrol. Photographs by David Conachy
the Irish independent You have been given exclusive access to accompany the patrol. The aircraft’s five-member crew will carry out a six-hour surveillance operation in an area designated as ‘zone 8’, a stretch of ocean more than 150 miles off the southwest coast.
The patrol area has some of the richest fishing grounds in the world and the busiest shipping lanes between Europe and America, not to mention some of the most stormy sea conditions on the planet.
In international law enforcement circles, it is known as the “Route 66” of drug traffickers or the “cocaine highway” between South America and the EU.
“Together with the navy, we are the only state law enforcement agency in our territorial waters, the equivalent of the garda patrol; our pace alone is roughly nine times the size of the island of Ireland,” says Capt. Stephen Connolly as radar operators take position on a bank of monitors and displays.
A typical patrol can cover 1000 nautical miles.
“Our role is to monitor and collect intelligence on movements on the surface; we are the eye in the sky for our colleagues patrolling the surface below, ”says Captain Connolly. “Like the garda, we are vigilant about illegal activity, including drug trafficking.”
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Surveillance: “Like the garda, we are on the lookout for illegal activity, including drug trafficking,” says Capt. Stephen Connolly. Photographs by David Conachy
The Air Corps is silent on the exact nature of its security operations. They are known to regularly participate in the undercover tracking of suspicious ships crossing Irish waters and beyond on behalf of other EU law enforcement agencies. These include the Lisbon-based Maritime Analysis (Narcotics) Operations Center, known as Maoc (N), which is headed by Michael O’Sullivan, the former assistant garda commissioner.
Maoc is responsible for coordinating the collective resources of the police, navy, air force and customs of the seven nations, including Ireland, to combat cocaine trafficking along the western coast of Europe.
In 2018, the plane we flew in, the C235 call sign, participated in a Maoc-led operation with an Irish warship in which they secretly tracked down a catamaran carrying two tons of cocaine from South America to a union. crime scene based in the UK.
The Defense Forces monitored the ship, pinpointing its course and speed, which brought it into the hands of the UK’s National Crime Agency and the Royal Navy off the coast of Cornwall.
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The Irish Defense Forces are responsible for policing the vast 132,000 square nautical miles of the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
O’Sullivan describes the role of the Air Corps and the Naval Service as vital to European activities against drug trafficking. “The two services play a vital role in our operations that for the most part does not receive public attention due to the sensitivity of the investigations,” he tells the Irish independent. “They are the forgotten heroes of the European fight against drug trafficking, which is confirmed by the high regard that the Defense Forces have by other EU police agencies.”
Safety is a priority for all operations and the crew asks not to be identified, apart from the spokesman, Captain Connolly.
The lead pilot explains why. “We are involved in sensitive operations, so we operate on a need-to-know basis,” he says. “There is an absolute secret around the task.”
The two 101 Squadron aircraft may have accumulated 26 years of service, accumulating 20,000 flight hours each, but they are in perfect condition. They are to be replaced in 2022 with two larger airships.
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Powerful thermal imaging cameras (right, top) provide clear views of boats from miles away.
“The fact that these two aircraft are in first-class condition is a credit to the technicians that we have in the Air Corps,” says Captain Connolly. “The Atlantic Ocean is an extremely hostile and rugged environment to operate, requiring a much higher level of maintenance than similar aircraft operating in less hostile areas of the world.
“If the aircraft descends below 5,000 feet while on patrol, which happens on a regular basis, it must undergo a complete compressor flush to ensure that the engines remain fully operational and safe from sea salt corrosion. It takes a lot more people than the actual crew of five to keep these machines running so well. “
The House is an impressive craft. It is a multi-sensor platform equipped with detection and tracking systems, operated by two experienced radar operators.
Its long-range surface search radar can detect a trawler 200 miles away in the stormy Atlantic. In fact, as the C235 passes Mullingar, its radars are already detecting vessels more than 100 miles from shore.
The sensors can find a human survivor in the water up to 40 miles away and can also detect whales and dolphins breaking the surface 30 miles away, depending on the mood of the mercurial ocean.
“We have the technology on board that allows us to see everything, including the smallest spacecraft on the ocean surface, regardless of whether someone is transmitting on their AIS or not,” says Captain Connolly.
It refers to its automatic identification system, which is similar to a flight transponder, which sends details of the location of a craft.
As the patrol continues, radar operators identify and tag dozens of fishing trawlers and cargo boats, recording their positions and movements in a manner similar to how Gardaí uses automatic license plate recognition cameras to monitor vehicles.
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The plane swoops down to get a closer look at a ship.
Inevitably, any vessel that appears on radars without transmitting its AIS immediately attracts the attention of sensor operators, who will alert pilots to chart a course for their location.
Powerful thermal imaging cameras provide sharp close-up views of the vessel from miles away, before the C235 descends from the clouds for a low pass and to remind the suspect that they are not alone.
As they do so, a specially trained photographer, the fifth member of the crew, takes pictures of the “suspect” ship. The images are kept as evidence for future research.
If the aircrew believes it requires further examination, the ship’s location is passed to Naval Headquarters, which in turn sends a warship to intercept and board the ship.
In the course of our patrol, the maneuver is repeated for four unidentified contacts.
Maritime Airmen also provide a vital search and rescue capability. The House carries a variety of high-powered flares capable of illuminating the ocean for miles, and emergency rafts can be launched from the aircraft’s rear loading ramp.
Conducting defense and security patrols and superior cover for search and rescue missions are the bread and butter of Squad 101, but it also performs a wide range of other duties, especially since the outbreak of Covid-19.
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A photographer looks at the photographs he has taken, which can be preserved as evidence in case future research emerges.
“This year has been exceptionally busy for the squad as in the early part of the pandemic the Houses were used to deliver Covid tests for analysis in Munich, and we had several air ambulance missions to transport patients to hospitals in the UK. and Europe “. says Captain Connolly.
A few days before this patrol, the same plane repatriated a child who had previously flown to Poland for a rescue operation. “It’s always a great morale booster for everyone here when we see a mission like that to a happy ending,” says Captain Connolly.
The squad was also deployed to resupply Irish troops based at the UN in Kosovo and Lebanon. In August, one of the planes delivered humanitarian aid to the people of Beirut after a devastating explosion that left 300,000 people homeless.
The plane’s wheels grind against Baldonnel’s asphalt in the dying light of early winter afternoon. The six hours literally flew by. While it is gently towed to its hangar, the crew begins a report and downloads the information gathered during the patrol.
Although it is the beginning of the weekend, there will not be much respite for the Airmen – they are on call for the next unplanned mission.
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