皇冠体育app

皇冠体育app Sea King Airborne Surveillance and Control helicopters of 854 Naval Air Squadron act as 鈥榚yes in the sky鈥�, and have guided forces on the ground in making a series of busts in a summer and autumn of successful operations.

皇冠体育app Sea King crews鈥� success can be attributed to the helicopter鈥檚 cutting-edge radar which tracks insurgents so the crews can inform ground troops where to pounce.

皇冠体育app helicopters, based at Camp Bastion, are flying up to 50 hours a week, using the specialist radar in a large grey 鈥榖ag鈥� on the side of the aircraft - which gives them their 鈥楤agger鈥� nickname - to follow the movements of insurgents thousands of feet below on the ground.

In the past fortnight alone 854 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) - which comprises fewer than 50 personnel in Helmand - has directed troops to three men travelling in a truck which was carrying 570kg of opium, while a large amount of heroin was found on another vehicle.

皇冠体育app Sea Kings, known as 鈥榗loudwalkers鈥� by Afghans, have also this summer helped with the seizure of 7.2 tonnes of explosives - enough to produce more than 1,500 ten-pound (4.5kg) small improvised explosive devices which are then used to kill and maim British, Allied and Afghan troops, and Afghan civilians.

In addition to these successes, the past two weeks have also seen the helicopters pass on 70 intelligence tip-offs for ground troops to follow up.

Commander Pat Douglas, Commander Maritime Sea King Force, said:

Individually, these 鈥榖usts鈥� are quite small, but, collectively, our small force is making a very big difference.

We may be only operating over Helmand and environs but the impact of what we do spreads across the entire country.

Every single time a vehicle we鈥檝e tracked is stopped and drugs or explosives are found by ground forces, we are making things a percentage safer for Afghan civilians and the forces there who are protecting them.

皇冠体育app Baggers have been in Afghanistan since May 2009, with 854 NAS and her sister squadron from Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, 857 NAS, taking it in turns to constantly monitor insurgent activity.

Although their missions are hundreds or thousands of feet above Helmand and the helicopters are based many miles from the scene of the various interdiction operations, Allied troops are very quick to pass on their gratitude for the intelligence the Baggers provide. Commander Douglas added:

We鈥檙e told quite quickly the outcome of our actions and the feedback we get is that we鈥檙e making a difference, which has a big effect on morale - really satisfying.

Crews initially used their sorties over Helmand to build up their knowledge and experience of each area and to understand life on the ground, day-to-day traffic and seasonal movements (such as harvest-gathering).

With two-and-a-half years鈥� experience under their belts, Commander Douglas said his men and women are well-attuned and familiar with their operating areas, making it easier for them to spot the unusual:

Operations now are more focused, more targeted and much more effective because we know the ground - there鈥檚 a lot of knowledge in the squadrons,鈥� Commander Douglas added.

We are on a campaign footing. We will continue to do the job out there as long as we are needed - we stay until our job is done.